
aass_^ii_2i_ 

Book_____A__ 



BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS 



OF 



LORD VISCOUNT NELSON, 



V/ITH 



OBSERVATIONS 

CRITICAL AND EXPLx\NATORY. 



SPARSI COEGI. 



BY JOHN CHARNOCK, ESQ. F.S.A. 

AUTHOR OF THE BIOGRAPHIA NAVALIS, AND THE HISTORY OF 
MARINE ARCHITECTURE, 

&c. t:c. 
SECOND AMERICAN EDITION. 



\ 




: BOSTON: 

PUBLLSHED BY ETHERIDGE l^ BLISS, 

No. 12, CORNHILL.— 1806. 



T. M. POMROV, PRINTER, NORTH AMPTOX. 



PREFACE. 



A PREFACE is generally unnecessary, and of- 
ten impertinent : that is to say, it is unnecessary 
to the reader ; far otherwise to the author of a 
book. It is a vehicle, like the armed chariots of 
old, in which he proudly sits, displaying his own 
importance and superiority, while the wheels of in- 
vective on which it rolls, pass without mercy over 
those unfortunate wights who have attempted to 
possess themselves even of the smallest corner of 
that peculiar province, of which he himself, per- 
haps, is an impudent usurper. Sometimes too, to 
use an humbler simile, he condescends to play in 
it the part of a puffing precursor to a show, who, 
with much noise of drum and trumpet, proclaims 
the mighty things which you shall see and hear ; 
and having pocketed your money, ushers you behind 



iv PREFACE. 

the curtain, and leaves you in the lurch, to grumble 
at his wretched tragi-comedy, or to laugh at the awk- 
wardness of his company of performers. 

These observations, however ludicrous the man- 
ner in which they are here offered may seem, are 
gravely intended, and well meant. The author of 
this volume, in making them, enjoys a certain degree 
of self- congratulation, when he reflects, that the na- 
ture of his subject must exempt from such censure, 
and save from such ridicule, the few prefatory lines 
which he hopes his readers will agree with him are 
not wholly unnecessary. A subject on which, as 
his humble endeavours, widi exceptions scarcely 
worth naming, have the honour to be first exerted, 
he has no competitors to envy or to blame. A sub- 
ject so splendid in its story, so notorious in the infi- 
nite ubiquity of its fame, that he needs only refer 
his readers to his title page, to bespeak their atten- 
tion. 

If, however, he be thus fortunately exempted 
from painful tricks and expedients of recommen- 
dation, he feels, and painfully too, the weight of the 
task Vk'hich he here essays to perform. — The bril- 
liancy and publicity of his theme, of which but now 
he boasted, overwhelm him with a sense of his 
inadequacy to such an attempt. He will offer an 
apology on the only ground where apologies ought ' 



PREFACE. V 

ever to be rested, on the ground of truth and since- 
rity, in a candid avowal of the motives vi^hich have 
induced him, from time to time, to collect, and now 
to present to the public, a sketch of the memoirs of 
Lord Nelson. 

An enthusiastic attachment to the naval service, 
and all that relates to it, has been, from his childhood, 
his ruling passion. It has led him, in more instan- 
ces than one, to devote his pen to the illustration 
of its mechanical oeconomy, and to the biography of 
many of its numberless heroes. With a disposition 
so inclined, and habits so fixed, it became his fortune 
to gain some personal knowledge of the great man, 
the subject of these memoirs ; and that occasional 
intercourse took place in the house of the late Cap- 
tain William Locker, Lieutenant-Governor of Green- 
wich Hospital, wiih whom ilie Author may presume 
to boast of many years strict intimacy and friend- 
ship, and whose high character in public service, 
and in private life, are above his powers of praise. 
That excellent officer, as we shall sec, was, in a 
manner. Lord Nelson's professional father. By 
him, a thousand traits and anecdotes were commu- 
nicated, in that exquisite manner of simplicity and 
feeling which belonged almost peculiarly to himself. 
By him the present work was suggested, even dur- 
ing the life of his Lordship, almost in the form of a 
request ; certain materials, v, hose value will speak 



PREFACE. 



for them in the course of the ensuing pages, have 
been since supplied by his estimable family. Thus, 
an original bias to the subject, some aid of private 
intelligence relative to it, and, perhaps above all, a 
wish to record the hero's last glorious victory, have 
excited the author's presumption to devote his feeble 
powers to their celebration. 

Of the mode in which he has executed his task 
the reader must judge for himself, recollecting al- 
ways that the work pretends only to the character of 
memoirs. A life of Lord Nelson, properly writ- 
ten, would perhaps involve some years of the gene- 
ral history of Europe. A detail even of naval ex- 
ploits, which have extended from the Nile to the 
Baltic, nay, which have shone in almost every sea 
that bears a distinct denomination, could not possi- 
bly be eonimed lo n single volume., 

The author claims litde merit beyond that which, 
of right, belongs to a faithful collector and reporter 
of much authentic intelligence, that had been before 
widely scattered under the public eye. He hopes, 
by this faithful miniature representation of Lord 
Nelson, to correct the defects and mistakes of such 
miserable sketches as have already appeared, and to 
furnish an outline to those who may, in future, be 
inclined to amplify on a subject which affords such 
boundless space. Should a work of that kind be 



PREFACE. vli 

undertaken by no one else, he may, at some future 
time, produce his best endeavours to that effect. — 
He means to devote to it all the leisure moments 
which indisposition and private concerns may leave 
him. He craves, in the mean time, for the defects 
of the present performance, that candour of criticism 
which is seldom denied to unavoidable imperfec- 
tions. 



MEMOIRS 



OF 



LORD VISCOUNT NELSON. 

THE labours of the biographer, of all literary du- 
ties perhaps the most important to the temporal inte- 
rests of mankind are usually attended by difficulties 
proportioned to that general importance. In the in- 
tricacies of cabinets, the secret cabals of factions, the 
intrigues of courtiers, or the closets of monarchs, 
what clue can he find to truth ? what degree of pen- 
etration can guard him against error ? If he turn 
from the actions of men to their motives, from the 
review of their conduct to the examination of their 
characters, his pains will be but encreased. The con- 
tradictory features which will almost always be found 
in bold and generous minds, and the hypocrisy and 
dissimulation which generally belong to those of a 
meaner cast, will evade his severest scrutiny, and 
baffle his most honest and acute judgment. Should 
he, however, by a rare good fortune, avoid all these 
pitfalls of error, a greater peril still lurks behind in 
his own passions, in those prejudices and partialities, 
under the influence of which, when his subject ad- 

2 



2 • MEMOIRS OF 

jnits the freedom of conjecture, he will frequently 
praise or blame, acquit or condemn, with an injus- 
tice, which, however unpremeditated, will expose 
him to inevitable censure, and probably to disgrace* 

How fortunate then is he to whose lot it may fall 
to pen the splendid details of a life so spent, and a 
character so constituted as to leave the biographer in 
perfect security from any of those dangers ! We will 
sketch the outline of the portrait, and challenge the 
world to deny the resemblance. 

The extraordinary person then of v»hom we are to 
treat, born and educated in the stillness of domestic 
priyacy, carried with him through a life of unexam- 
pled glory that exquisitely noble, though tender, sim- 
plicity of mind and manners, which, while it relie- 
ved the more dazzling parts of his character, endear- 
ed him to those who knew him best even more than 
all his victories. It was made up of many excellent 
passions and sentiments, so mixed and nourished in 
the warmest heart that ever inhabited a human breast 
that it seemed to be, or rather was, but one quality, 
which invariably influenced his conduct, and shone 
in all he thought, said or acted. 

This nameless ruling principle inspired him with 
an exalted pride, which looked down with contempt 
on the littleness of political and professional parties 
and with a sincerity which would have disqualified 
him to act with them, could he have been so inclined ; 
with a sympathy not uncommon to great minds 
which led him, without the aid of deliberation and 
judgment, to the happiest selection of his friends in 
private life, and of his companions in public service ; 



LORD NELSON. 3 

with ambition of a sort as simple as the rest of his 
character, which seemed to belong particularly to 
himself, -Bnd in the gratification of which, the plan, 
the execution, and the event, were solely his own, 
and always successful ; with a magnanimity, courage 
and presence of mind, not confined to the quarter- 
deck, its pinnacle of glorj'-, but evident in all his in- 
tercourse with kings and statesmen of his own and 
other countries ; with a quickness of decision and a 
promptitude of execution so instantly following that 
they appeared but one act ; with a pure and correct 
spirit of patriotism which, while it modestly declin- 
ed to profess itself in the senate and proudly dis- 
dained to proclaim itself to the people, spoke in a 
voice of thunder to the enemies of his country from 
that station only in which his sovereign had wisely 
thought fit to place him. 

Such was the public character of this great man, 
and his country was fully sensible of those services 
which it never could sufficiently recompense. Ho- 
nours and dignities were thickly showered on him, 
and he became the idol of Britain, and the wonder of 
the world. Yet in those short intervals of relaxation, 
which his public duties allowed him, how did we fincj 
him in his domestic retirement ? Mild, unassuming, 
and innocent : the only man in Europe with whom 
we could have sat even for half an hour without hear- 
ing of Lord Nelson's fame. If that service, the al- 
ready glorious reputation of which he had so fre- 
quently crowned with his own laurels, became per- 
chance the topic of conversation, he joined in it only 
to express his gratitude to those veterans who ha^ 



4 MEMOIRS OF 

been his professional instructors, and his affection to 
the brave men who had served with him. In a word, 
for we must repeat it, the ruling character of his 
mind was a noble and chaste simplicity. To that we 
owe his public services and his private merits, our 
past rejoicings, and our present grief. 

Horatio, late Lord Viscount Nelson, was the third 
son of the Reverend Edmund Nelson, rector of Burn- 
ham Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk, and Cathe- 
rine, daughter of Maurice Suckling, D. D. rector 
of Barsham in Suffolk, Woodton in Norfolk, and one 
of the prebendaries of Westminster. He was born 
on the 29th of September, 1758, and received the 
first rudimerits of education in the public school of 
Norwich, from whence he afterwards removed to 
North Walsham, His progress in scholastic learning 
was however necessarily interrupted at a very early 
age ; for having fortunately, at least for his country, 
been destined by his father, thougli, as it is reported, 
not strictly in unison with his own inclination, for 
the sea service, he was, when only twelve years old, 
entered on board the Raisonnable, of sixty-four guns, 
a ship at that time commanded by his maternal un- 
cle, Captain Maurice Suckling. This circumstance 
took pkice in the year 1770, and the ship just men- 
tioned Mas one of those ordered to be equipped in 
consequence of the rupture at that time apprehend- 
ed between the courts of London and Madrid rela- 
tive to the Falkland Islands. The matter in dispute 
being however speedily accommodated, the Raison- 
nable was put out of commission ; and a life of indo- 
lence, even for a single day, being considered highly 



LORD NELSON. S 

improper by Captain Suckling, his nephew, by his 
advice, experienced a temporary transfer into the 
mercantile line of service, having made a voyage to 
the West-Indies under the care of Mr. John Rath- 
bone w'ho had formerly served under Captain Suck» 
ling on board the Dreadnought and who then com- 
manded a ship employed in the trade to these colo- 
nies. 

During the absence of Mr. Nelson Captain Suck- 
ling had been appointed to command the Triumph of 
seventy-four guns, a guardship stationed at Chatham ; 
and, immediately on the arrival of the former, he re- 
turned into the king's service, under die protection 
and guidance of his uncle, being appointed a mid- 
shipman on board the ship just mentioned. It is said, 
and from such authority as can scarcely be doubted, 
that he had imbibed the strongest prejudice against 
serving in the navy and that it M'as not without much 
difficulty that his uncle, than whom no person could 
be better qualified for such a task, was able to re- 
move it. Gentle precept and the force of example 
having completed this purpose, this young navigator 
gave the earliest proofs of that enthusiastic attach- 
ment to his profession which very rarely fails to cre- 
ate renown and lead to the highest honours. It is re- 
ported, as an anecdote, that his uncle, who appears 
from this circumstance to have obtained very consi- 
derable knowledge of the workings of the human 
heart, as well as to have made himself completely 
master of his nephew's peculiar turn of mind, carried 
his point by judiciously appearing to place a confi- 
dence in him far beyond what his years and short 



^ MEMOIRS OF 

time of service might be thought to justify, but which 
his conduct uniformly proved he fully merited. 

He continued in the Triumph no longer than till 
the month of April in the year ensuing ; when it 
having been resolved to send out two vessels to the 
northern seas on a voyage of discovery, and the office 
of a midshipman on board a guardship little accord- 
ing with his active turn of mind, he solicited an ap- 
pointment and was accordingly received on board the 
Carcase as coxswain to Captain Lutwidge, who was 
commander of that vessel. This application stands, 
among many others, a very convincing proof of that 
enthusiastic attachment to every branch of the service 
in which he was engaged that has so strongly marked 
the character of this noble person through life. The 
expedition in which he so earnestly wished to engage 
was attended with many disagreeable and dangerous 
considerations which do not usually fall to the share 
of voyages undertaken towards other quarters of the 
world. The principal object of it was to ascertain 
how near to the north pole navigation could possibly 
be carried, the Royal Society, and many learned per- 
sons, being of opinion that some advancement might 
be effected through such a measure towards the dis- 
covery of a north-west passage into the South Seas ; 
and also that many astronomical observations might 
be taken in those high latitudes, which would afford 
a variety of data and deductions extremely useful to 
seamen. 

The peculiar dangers which it was supposed the 
vessels engaged in this undertaking would have to 
encounter caused the admiralty board not only to 



LORD NELSON. 7 

take such extraordinary precautions in fitting out and 
preparing the vessels as might have intimidated a less 
ardent mind than that of Mr. Nelson from voluntarily- 
exposing himself to them, but also to issue a positive 
order that no boys whatever should be received on 
board. The cause was obvious ; but the eager and 
strenuous manner of the application overcame the 
difficulty, though our youthful adventurer was not 
then fifteen years old.* 

His conduct through all the perils of this expedi- 
tion, which were extremely numerous, fully justified 
the propriety of his application for the appointment, 
and answered the most sanguine expectations of his 
friends and professional relatives. In so high a de- 
gree did he acquire the confidence of his command- 
ing officer that, when the vessels were in the most 
perilous situation and all persons on board entertained 
the strongest apprehensions that they would be in- 
closed in the ice, Mr. Nelson, notwithstanding his 
youth, was appointed to command one of the boats 
sent out for the purpose of attempting to find a pas- 
sage or channel into the open water. 

One anecdote is related of him during this expe- 
dition which, though already repeatedly published, 
and in some respects irregular with regard to the ser- 
vice does too much honour to his filial attention to 
be omitted here : — During the time the vessels were 
closely jammed up by the ice, Mr. Nelson was miss- 
ed in the night, and no inconsiderable apprehensions 

* This expedition was intrusted to the command of the honour- 
able Constantine John Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave. 



f MEMOIRS OF 

were entertained on board for his safety ; but he was 
at length discovered on the return of day at a conside- 
rable distance from the vessel, in pursuit of a large 
bear. He was armed only with a musket the lock 
of which having been, by some accident, injured, 
was rendered of no farther service to him than as a 
club ; yet, thus weakly armed, he had the resolution 
and intrepidity to pursue the animal, in the hope of 
tiring it out and knocking it down with the but-end 
of his piece. When he returned he was somewhat 
harshly reprimanded by the captain, who demanded, 
in a very peremptory tone, to know his reasons for so 
inconsiderate and rash an undertaking ; when his an- 
swer must have unbent the brow of the most unre- 
lenting tyrant — " I was in hopes, sir," said the young 
hero, " of getting a skin for my father." 

The farther prosecution of the voyage being given 
up soon after the anecdote just mentioned had taken 
place, the ships returned to England, and were paid 
off in the month of October following. A fresh op- 
portunity however of indulging his thirst for render- 
ing himself completely master of his profession oc- 
curred very soon afterwards. A small squadron was 
ordered to be fitted out for the East Indies ; and our 
youthful adventurer entered on board the Seahorse, 
of twenty guns, which vessel was then commanded 
by the gallant Captain Farmer, who some years af- 
terwards lost his life on board the Quebec, in an en- 
gagement with the Surveillantc, a French Frigate of 
very superior force. The climate of India ill suiting 
Mr. Nelson's constitution, which, strange to say, was 
then and ever afterwards continued to be extremely 



LORD NELSON. 9 

delicate, commodore Hughes, who commanded in 
chief on that station, thought proper to send him to 
England on board the Dolphin, a frigate then under 
orders to sail for Europe ; and gratitude, as well as 
justice, requires us to state, that the very humane at- 
tention he received when in his infirm state of health 
from Captain J. Pigot, who then commanded the 
Dolphin, contributed in a great degree to the preser- 
vation of his life, which was for a considerable time 
in the most imminent dangler. 

The air of his native country operated like a ma- 
gical charm on the constitution of this enterprising 
young man. He recovered so speedily, that, though 
the Dolphin was not paid off till the 24th of Decem- 
ber, 1776, on the 26th of the same month he was 
appointed, by order from Sir James Douglas, then 
commander in chief at Portsmouth, to be acting 
lieutenant of the Worcester, a third rate, command- 
ed by Captain Mark Robinson, which ship was then 
under sailing orders for Gibraltar, with a convoy. 
Mr. Nelson retained this station till the month of 
April following, and displayed during the whole of 
a very long disagreeable winter's cruize in the Bay 
of Biscay, the same attention to his duty which had 
so deservedly acquired him the love and the esteem 
of every officer he had before sailed with. Captain 
Robinson is, in particular, said to have declared to 
his friends, that notwithstanding Mr. Nelson's youth, 
he being then little more than eighteen years old, he 
felt himself quite as easy in the most boisterous 
night, when it was his turn to command the watch, 
as when it was that of the oldest officer in the ship. 

3 



10 MEMOIRS OF 

The necessary period of service in the subordinate 
station of midshipman or mate being expired, Mr. 
Nelson passed liis examination on the 8th of April, 
1777, and acquitted himself on the occasion with 
such high credit, that on the following day he receiv- 
ed a commission as second lieutenant of the Lowes- 
tofFe, of thirty-two guns, a frigate commanded by 
Captain William Locker, afterwards lieutenant-go- 
vernor of Greenwich hospital, who was appointed to 
that ship, on a three years station at the island of 
Jamaica. His nevv^ commander very soon found, 
experimentally, that his behaviour in every respect 
justified that character, which he before knew only 
from report. Immediately after his arrival he was 
accordingly appointed to command a schooner which 
was fitted out as a tender to the Lowestoffe. In this 
station he distinguished himself on a variety of occa- 
sions which, in the memoirs of so active and o-reat 
a character as his lordship's, it becomes needless to 
repeat. The narrative would afford nothing but a 
constant uniform repetition of valorous and noble 
acts, each vying with the other so closely, that it 
might be difficult to assign any particular one to 
which pre-eminence is due. 

Captain Locker being, in 1779, compelled to re- 
turn to England for the benefit of his health, Mr. 
Nelson was appointed by Sir Peter Parker' then 
commander in chief on that station, to be third lieu- 
tenant of the Bristol, which Avas his flag-ship. He 
rose from thence in regular rotation to be first in 
that rank, and was afterv^•a^ds, as he had a very just 
claim to be, promoted to the command of the Badger 



LORD NELSON. jj 

sloop of war. Being ordered out to the Musquito 

shore for the better protection of the Baymen from 

the depradations of the American privateers, he 

there shewed himself no less attentive to the moral 

duties of private life than he had before proved 

he was to those of his profession. By his care, his 

gentleness of manners, and conciliating conduct, he 

gained the entire love of all the settlers, who, when 

his time of service on that station expired, voted 

him their unanimous thanks for his conduct, and ex- 

pressed their regret at his departure in the most af, 

fectionate terms. 

Soon after his arrival at Jamaica his presence of 
mind and uncommon exertions preserved from de- 
struction Captain Lloyd, and all the crew of the Glas- 
gow, a twenty-gun ship, commanded by that gentle- 
man, which had unfortunately taken fire, owing to 
an accident by no means uncommon, occasioned by 
carelessness in drawing off a cask of rum. Captain 
Lloyd, to our certain knowledge, never mentioned 
the transaction alluded to, without uttering the warm- 
est and most grateful acknowledgements of the cool- 
ness and the intrepidity displayed on so dreadful an 
occasion by this youthful hero. 

On the 11th of June 1779, he was advanced to 
the rank of post-captain, and appointed to the Hinch- 
inbrooke of twenty guns, An attack upon the 
island of Jamaica being then daily apprehended, in 
consequence of the French fleet having arrived at 
Hispaniola from Martinico, under the command of 
that well-known character the Count d'Estaing, Cap- 
tain Nelson was appointed, both by the general and 



12 MEMOIRS OF 

admiral, to command the important batteries which 
defended Port Royal, a post than which a more ho- 
nourable and important one could not have been en- 
trusted to him. At the commencement of the ensu- 
ing year, all apprehension of a visit from the enemy 
having passed away, an expedition was planned, and 
sent out against the Spanish settlement, situated on 
the river St. John, in the Gulph of Mexico. The 
chief command by sea was given to Captain Nelson, 
who, not content with coldly fulfilling what the strict 
letter of his duty required, quitted his ship, and vo- 
lunteering his services up the river, through a navi- 
gation then totally unknown to all Europeans, Span- 
iards excepted, contributed most essentially, by his 
exertions and gallantry, to the capture of Fort St. 
Juan. Captain Poison, the commanding officer by 
land, in his public dispatches, pays the following tri- 
bute to his conduct. 

" Captain Nelson, then of the Hinchinbrooke, 
came up with thirty-four seamen, one serjeant, and 
twelve marines. I want words to express the obliga- 
tions I owe that gentleman ; he was the first on every 
service, whether by day, or by night. There was 
scarcely a gun fired, but was pointed by him, or 
Lieutenant Despard, chief engineer, who has exert- 
ed himself on every occasion. I am persuaded if 
our shot had held out we should have had the fort a 
week sooner. As Captain Nelson goes to Jamaica 
he can inform you of every delay, and point of ser- 
vice as well as I could, for he knows my very 
thouQ-hts. 

" The bearer, Lieutenant Mounsey, can inform 



LORD NELSON. 13 

your excellency of many things that may escape my 
memory : he is a very good officer, and commanded 
the party I sent to reconnoitre the look-out, and be- 
gan the attack of it, in concert with Captain Despard 
and Captain Nelson who with his seamen volunteer- 
ed that duty." 

In the fort were found one brass mortar, of five 
inches and a half, t\Yenty pieces of brass ordnance, 
mounted, besides swivels, ten or twelve iron ditto, 
dismounted, together with a proportionate quantity 
of military stores. 

The fatigue occasioned by such extraordinary ex- 
ertions, added to the natural unwholesomeness of 
the climate on the Spanish main, and the delicacy of 
his own constitution, reduced him to the necessity of 
returning back to Jamaica as a passenger on board 
the Victor sloop. On his arrival, he found himself 
to have been promoted, during his absence, to the 
command of the Janus of forty. four guns, as suc- 
cessor to Captain Bonnovier Glover, who had died 
on the 21st of March preceding. So much, howe- 
ver, was he debilitated as to be incapable of profit- 
ing from this honourable testimony paid by the com- 
mander in chief to his conduct. It appears very 
doubtful, whether he ever proceeded to sea as Captain 
of the Janus ; having during the greatest part of 
his time, been under the necessity of remaining, for 
the better preservation of his health, at the residence 
of Sir Peter Parker, the commander in chief on that 
station ; who paid him the kindest and most affection- 
ate attention. These marks of friendship were un- 
fortunately unproductive of the end to which they 



** MEMOIRS OF 

were applied ; Captain Nelson's health still continu- 
ing much impaired, he M^as under the necessity of 
returning to England at the close of the same year, 
with the honourable Captain Cornvvallis, as a pas- 
senger on board the Lion. 

After enduring a long and excrutiating indisposi- 
tion at Bath, whither he repaired immediately on his 
arrival in England, he happily received so much ben- 
efit as to declare himself on the approach of the en- 
suing summer capable of undertaking a command. 
He was accordingly appointed in the month of Au- 
gust, 1780, to the Albermale of twenty-eight guns, 
a merchant ship captured from the French at the 
close of the year 1779 and purchased into the King's 
service. After a long and fatiguing station, during 
the whole of the ensuing winter, in the North Seas^ 
he was sent to Newfoundland, in company with Cap' 
tain Pringle who commanded the convoy sent thi- 
ther with the outward-bound fleet in the month of 
April 1782. Being ordered on a cruise off Boston, 
he distinguished himself very remarkably by his 
conduct when chased by three French ships of the 
Ime and a frigate. Finding, according to the sea- 
man's phrase, that his pursuers had the heels of him 
he resolved, as the case was desperate to adopt a 
desperate, or at best a very dangerous remedy and 
Without hesitation pushed for the St. George's Bank ; 
among the shoals of which he entertained hopes of 
entangling his enemies or of inducing them to dis- 
contiue the chase from the apparent hazard of pursu- 
ing It any farther. He was not disappointed in the 
latter part of his expectation, the larger ships hav- 



LORD NELSON. j- 

ing immediately shortened sail. The frigate, how- 
ever, drawing less water, was not to be baffled so 
easily ; she continued the chase till nearly the close of 
day when, being almost up with the Albermarle, Cap- 
tain Nelson very resolutely ordered his ship to be hove 
to for the purpose of bringing the contest to a speedy 
decision. This instance of firmness, unexpectedly 
displayed by an inferior opponent, struck the pursuer 
with immediate dismay ; he instantly put about and 
made sail from the Albermarle which, though it 
might possibly by the bravery of its commander and 
crew have been preserved from again reverting into 
the hands of the foe, was from her force and equip, 
ment totally unfit to seek or court an engagement 
with so superior an antagonist. 

Having proceeded afterwards to Quebec he was 
ordered from thence to New- York with a convoy in 
the month of October ; and being instructed to put 
himself, on his arrival there, under the orders of the 
commander in chief on that station; he accordingly 
proceeded from thence to the West-Indies in the fol- 
lowing month with Lord Hood,* and the squadron 
* This nobleman, who Is now living, was appointed to a lieute- 
nancy m the navy, on thelTth of May 1746, and sometime after 
the conclusion of the war was promoted to be commander of a 
sloop : m the year 1 756 he was captain of the Jamaica, a sloop 
employed by Commodore Holmes in watching the port of Louis- 
bourg. In this service he was indefatigable, and particularly 
distmgn.shed himself in an encounter with a small French squad- 
ron on the 27th of July. He is stated to have taken rank as a 
post-captam on board the Lively frigate by a commission bearinn 
date the 22d of that month sent out to him from England and 
that he remained in the Jamaica sloop tiU it reached him. The 



16 MEMOIRS OF 

under his command. His lordship had just returned 
from a cruise off Boston, in search of Captain Nel- 
son's quondam pursuers, and wasleft to follow Admi- 

followlng year he commanded the Biddeford, in the Bay of Bis- 
cay ; and in 1 758 removed to the Vestal of thirty-two guns, then 
stationed in the Channel, in which ship he had the good fortune 
to fall in with the Bellona, a French frigate of superior size to his 
own, which, after a most gallant and desperate engagement of 
four hours, he captured, but the Vestal was so materially dama- 
ged that Captain Hood was obliged to bear away for port where 
he safely arrived with his prize on the 2d of March. As soon 
as the frigate was refitted he proceeded in her to the Mediterra- 
nean, from whence he again returned to England, at the expira- 
tion of the war, without having met Vv-ith any further opportuni- 
ty of distinguishing himself. 

Captain Hood is not again mentioned in the service till the year 
177 J J when he was appointed to the Royal William, of eighty- 
four guns, on the expectation of a rupture with the Spaniards con- 
cerning Falkland Islands; but that dispute being settled, and the 
Royal William put out of commission, Mr. Hood in the year 177 4-, 
was appointed to the command of the Marlborough, of seventy- 
four guns, one of the guard-ships at Portsmouth. This com- 
mand he retained during the customary period of three years ; 
and in 1777 quitted for a short time the line of active service, hav- 
ing been nominated the resident commissioner at the port just 
mentioned ; and on the visit of his majesty to that place, in 
the month of May 1778, was advanced to the rank of a baronet 
by patent bearing date the 19th of that month. On the 26th of 
September, being raised to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue, 
he quitted his civil appointment and immediately took upon him 
the command of a squadrondestined to reinforce Sir George Rod- 
ney in the West-Indies. He accordingly hoisted his flag on board 
the Barfleiir, of ninety guns, and, with a fleet of merchant ves- 
sels under his protection, sailed about the latter end of November 
for that station, accompanied by seven sail of the line, exclusive 
of his flag-ship, two frigates and three smaller vessels. He arri- 



LORD NELSON. 17 

ral Pigot, who had quitted America with the main 
body of the fleet. The exertions made by the Frencli 
in the West- Indies, ceased with the defeat they ex- 

ved safe at the place of his destination, after encountering several 
severe storms, in one of which the Monarca, of seventy guns, re- 
ceived so much damage in a gale of wind as to be obliged to put 
back. 

Immediately on his arrival in the West-Indies, he became enga- 
ged under Sir G. B. Rodney, in very active service ; for intelli- 
gence having been received about the end of April that the Count 
de Grasse was daily expected with a reinforcement. Sir Samuel 
was detached with the greatest part of the fleet to intercept him. 
The British squadron discovered their antagonists on the 28lli of 
April, off Martinico, consisting of nineteen sail of the line, two oth- 
ers armed en flute, and a number of large frigates. The English 
force amounted to only seventeen sail of the line ; but notwithstand- 
ing this inferiority. Sir Samuel determined if possible to attack 
them. An action accordingly took place ; but the French kept at 
such a distance as to render it very indecisive, and little damage 
ensued. Having, however, repaired what little he had received he 
formed a junction with the commander in chief of the British fleet 
between the islands of Montserrat and Antigua. On the approach 
of the hurricane months, Sir Samuel having followed the Count 
de Grasse to America, joined the fleet then under the command 
of Admiral Graves; but in the engagement that took place in that 
quarter had no opportunity of distinguishing himself, not being 
in the smallest degree concerned in the action, owing to the local 
circumstances of his station. On the return of the Count de Grasse 
to the West-Indies, Sir Samuel Hood again followed him ; he 
had, however, scarcely reached his station when the island of St. 
Christopher's was attacked by the Count Bouiile, at the head of 
a land force, protected by upwards of thiity ships of the line. Sir 
.Samuel, though much inferior, having only twenty- two, determin- 
ed if possible to save tlie island. In this, however, though his 
manoeuvres were conducted with the most consummate skill and 
abilities, he could not succeed ; yet so good a disposition did he 
make of his fleet, as to receive very little damage in several par- 

4 



18 MEMOIRS OF 

perienced on the ever memorable 12th of April pre- 
ceding ; so that the flame of war was sunk into a 
smothering ember, and served only to point out, by 
mere harmless smoke, the devastation it had former- 
ly caused. It therefore becomes a matter of no won- 
der, that though constantly employed on the most ac- 
tive service till the nev.s arrived of peace being con- 
cluded, Captain Nelson was not fortunate enough to 
meet with any opportunity of particularly distinguish- 
ing himself. Having been ordered to attend his royal 
highness Prince William Henry, now Duke of Clar- 
ence on a visit paid by him to the governor of the 

tial encounters that took place on that occasion. After the capitu- 
lation of the island, on the 13th of February, nothing remained 
for Sir Samuel but to retire in as good a condition as possible ; 
which he eifected so completely, that the measures he then pur- 
sued did not a little contribute to the glorious victory which fol- 
lowed on the 12th of April. Sir Samuel and his division bore 
the principal part of the action in a short skirmish which took 
place previous to the great event above mentioned ; and on the 
latter occasion his conduct was so conspicuous as to procure him 
the thanks of his commander in chief, and of his country. He was 
rewarded by his sovereign v/itli an Irish peerage, by the title of 
Baron Hood, of Catherington. The freedom of the city of Lon- 
don was voted him, and he received from several other parts of 
the kingdom similar instances of the general ^approbation his 
conduct merited. 

His lordship was detached on the 1 Sth with twelve sail of the 
line, in quest of any French ships that might have endeavoured to 
pass through the Mona passage, after their defeat of the 12th in- 
stant. On the following day, five sail wei^e discovered, of which 
four were captured. The French making no further efforts, and 
peace taking place,his lordship returned to England in the Spring 
of 17S3. 



LORD NELSON. 19 

Havannah, he returned from thence to England, and 
was paid off at Portsmouth about the end of July. — 
He immediately went over to France, as well for the 
purpose of relaxation, as for the more perfect re-es- 
tablishment of his health. 

After continuing there till the ensuing spring he 
returned to England, where, soon after his arrival, he 
was commissioned to the Boreas frigate, of twenty- 
eight guns, a ship then under orders of equipment for 
the Leeward Islands as a cruiser on the peace es- 
tablishment. This service was by no means so easy 
as the public situation of affairs appeared to promise. 
The Americans, after having erected themselves into 
free and independent states, were extravagant enough 
to expect, notwitstanding their disseverment from 
the mother-country, they should continue to enjoy 
the same privileges which they possessed when con- 
sidered as colonies to it. The governors and inhabi- 
tants of the West-India islands supported this absurd 
claim; and Captain Nelson, having, in consequence 
of his adopting a firm opinion of its impropriety, de- 
clared that he would seize all American vessels which 
he found trading contrary to the rules established for 
that purpose with foreigners, was treated with much 
asperity. 

In a short time afterwards he demonstrated that his 
declaration was not an empty threat, intending mere- 
ly to intimidate, and never to be followed up by the 
act itself. Having accordingly seized several Amer- 
ican vessels which he chanced to meet with, the out- 
cry against him rose to so great a height throughout 
all the British islands and colonies in that quarter 



20 MEMOIRS OF 

that he was constrained, for a considerable time, to 
continue on board his ship, without going even on 
shore, fearing he might meet with some unpleasant 
conduct which his spirit could neither brook, nor the 
station he held would permit him to endure. Much 
however as his behaviour might be reprobated by the 
parties interested, Captain Nelson had the satisfac- 
tion to find it approved in the most unqualified man- 
ner by his sovereign and his native country. He 
continued on the same station till the month of June 
1787, and was then ordered to England ; the terra 
usually allotted to ships employed on such service 
durino- the time of peace being expired. In the month 
of March preceding he married Mrs. Frances Her- 
bert Nesbit, widow of Dr. Nesbit, daughter to Wil- 
liam Herbert, Esquire, senior judge, and niece to 
Mr. Herbert, president of the same island; his royal 
highness Prince William, who served on the same 
station as Captain of the Pegasus, gracing the nup- 
tials with his presence, and actingas father to the tru- 
ly amiable lady. Captain Nelson was put out of com- 
mission soon after his arrival in England, the Boreas 
beino- paid off atSheerness on the 30th of November. 
From this time he experienced the longest relaxation 
from the fatigues of public service, which he had ev- 
er allowed himself, since his first entrance into it : 
it was a period of five years ; and never perhaps did 
any of equal length since his mere childhood appear 
half so long, or half so irksome. 

" Captain Nelson," observes the author of his life 
inserted in the Naval Chronicle,*' retired to enjoy the 
consolation of domestic happiness, at the parsonage 



LORD NELSON. 21 

house at Burnham Thorpe, which his father gave him 
as a place of residence ; where, imitating Xcnophon, 
in the arrangement of his little farm at Scyllus, Cap- 
tain Nelson passed the interval of peace in rural occu- 
pation and solitude. From the age of twelve years 
to the time occupied at this retreat, no period oc- 
curs in the life of Horatio Nelson for the mind to 
pause ; all previous to this, and since that period, has 
been a continued succession of events arising from 
professional duties, amid a complication of peril, and 
unprecedented emergencies. He now enjoyed the 
opportunity of strengthening by frequent reflection 
the experience he had obtained ; combining the va- 
rious ideas which a quick, yet sound observation had 
collected ; and improving that knowledge of himself, 
and of human nature, so essential to those who are 
called on by their country to command with firm- 
ness, to obey without a murmur. Like the cele- 
brated Roman who retired into the country to enjoy 
the calm of repose. Captain Nelson might declare 
that he had been many years on earthy but had Ihed 
•very feiD for himself. 

On the prospect of a rupture with Spain relative 
to Nootka Sound, Captain Nelson, who with the ut- 
most impatience regretted passing so inactive a life, 
repaired immediately to London, and solicited an ap- 
pointment in the strongest terms. His application 
was, however, ineffectual, owing to the multitude of 
officers, who being his seniors on the list, appeared 
to have a priority of claim to commissions, and the 
speedy manner in which the dispute terminated. — 
Fortunately for his country, the sudden War in which 



22 MEMOIRS OF 

Britain found itself involved with French anarchists 
was more favorable to his wishes. At the very com- 
mencement of it, he was appointed to the Agamem- 
non of sixty-four guns, by commission bearing date 
January 30, 1793. This ship was then under orders 
of equipment for the Mediterranean and having ta- 
ken in its powder and stores at Blackstakes sailed in 
company with the Robust of seventy- four guns, com- 
manded by the Hon. Captain Elphinstone and pro- 
ceeded to its station in the month of May. In this 
service Captain Nelson continued for three years : — 
foremost in the hour of danger and difficulty, while 
at the same time his bravery was happily mingled 
with the most consummate prudence, and profound- 
est judgment, it became rather a matter of public 
wonder if any official report of an encounter passed 
him over in silence. He was entrusted as a negotia- 
tor, employed as a naval partizan, as a superintendant 
of transports, and as a general officer on shore ; in all 
which multifarious offices he acquitted himself with 
such credit that it were a difficult matter to decide on 
what occasions his services shone most conspicuous- 
ly ; whether at Genoa, or in his long communications 
with General De Vins ; on the coast of Italy, where he 
was so frequently employed in expeditions against the 
French flotillas which sought their safety by running 
into creeks, whither they thought it impossible gal- 
lantry could pursue them ; on the coast of Corsica, 
where the embarkation and landing of troops was so 
happily confided to him ; or at the sieges of Bastia and 
Calvi, where he displayed the knowledge of an able 
engineer, joined to the experience of a consummate 



LORD NELSON. 23 

eeneral. It was on the latter occasion he had the 
misfortune to lose the sight of his right eye ; a shot 
from one of the enemy's batteries having struck the 
ground near the spot where he stood, and driven up 
the small gravel with such violence that a minute 
particle of it struck him on that tender part and pro- 
duced the irremediable mischief, which even his en- 
emies must have in some sort lamented. In the en- 
counters which took place in the months of March 
and July, 1795, between the French and the British 
fleets, which latter was at that time commanded by 
Lord Hotham, he no less eminently distinguished 
himself, and in the first of those naval skirmishes had 
the happiness of contributing to the partial success 
then obtained by the spirited attack he made on the 
12th, in conjunction with the Inconstant fiigate, on 
the Ca Ira, of eighty guns. 

On the 4th of July Captain Nelson was, as had fre- 
quently been the case on former occasions, detached 
from the fleet as senior ofiicer of a squadron of ob- 
servation, consisting of the Agamemnon, Meleagei% 
Ariadne, Moselle, Mutine cutter ; and being on the 
7th of the ensuing month chased into St. Fiorenzo 
by the French fleet, which had put to sea from Tou- 
lon, that circumstance led to a second partial en- 
counter which ended without any further loss to the 
enemy than that of the Alcide of 74 guns wiiich took 
fire and blew up, after she had struck her colours, 
ere she could be properly taken possession of by the 
English. In the ensuing month he was detached by 
the commander in chief as senior officer of a lisht 
squadron, with which he Vv as ordered to proceed to 



24 MEMOIRS O]^ 

the Bays of Alassio and Languilia, both in the neigh- 
borhood of Vado, and at that time not only in posses- 
sion of the French army, but serving as the princi- 
pal rendezvous for the transports and store-ships em- 
ployed in the conveyance of stores and other neces- 
saries applicable to the maintenance of war in that 
quarter of the world ; in this service he displayed his 
customary diligence, and his activity experienced 
the reward it merited. *^ 

* Letter from Captain Nelson to Admiral Hotham, dated Aga- 
memnon, Vado Bay, Aug. 27> 1795. 
Sir, 
Having received information from General De Vins that a 
convoy of provisions and ammunition was arrived at Alassio, a 
place in the possession of the French army, 1 yesterday proceed- 
ed with the ships named in the margin (Inconstant, Meleager, 
Southampton, Tartar, Ariadne, Speedy) to that place, where, 
within an hour, we took the vessels named in the inclosed list ; 
there was a very feeble opposition from some of the enemy's cav- 
alry, who fired on our boats when boarding the vessels near the 
shore ; but I have the pleasure to say, no man was killed or 
wounded. The enemy had two thousand horse and foot sol- 
diers in the town, which prevented my landing, and destroying 
their magazines of provisions and ammunition. 

I sent Captain Freemantle, of the Inconstant, with the Tar- 
tar, to I^anguilia, a town on the west side of the Bay of Alassio, 
where he executed my orders in a most officer-like manner ; and 
I am indebted to every captain and officer in the squadron for 
their activity, but most particularly so to Lieutenant George 
Andrews, first lieutenant of the Agamemnon, who, by his spirit 
and officer-like conduct, saved the French corvette from going 
on shore. 

I have the honour to be, Sir, 

With the greatest respect. 

Your most obedient, 
Admiral Hotham. Horatio Nelson. 



LORD NELSON. 25 

It were difficult perhaps to decide -which point of 
character was most conspicuous, the spirit and gal- 
lantry which he displayed in conducting the enter- 
prise, or the modesty with which he described the 
events of it. His commander in chief, Mr. Hotham, 
bore the amplest testimony to the former, and every 
individual under his command endeavoured to ex- 
ceed each other in their honest suffrages as to the 
truth of the latter. Towards the close of the current 
year Mr. Hotham was superseded in his command by 
Sir JohnJervis,* afterwards created Earl of St. Vin- 

List of vessels taken by his Majesty's squadron under the com- 
mand of Horatio Nelson, Esq. in the Bay of Alassio and Lan- 
guilia, the 26th of August, 1795. 

La Revolue (corvette) pollaco ship, ten guns, four swivels, 
eighty-seven men, six guns thrown overboard, belonging to the 
French : La Republique gun-boat, six guns, forty-nine men, be- 
longing to the French : La Constitution galley, one brass gun, 
four swivels, thirty men, belonging to the French : La Vigilante 
galley, one brass gun, four sv/ivels, twenty-nine men, belonging 
to the French : a brig in ballast, name unknown, burden one 
hundred tons, belonging to the French : a bark, name unknown, 
burden seventy tons, laden with powder and shells, belonging to 
the French : La Gulletta brig, burden one hundred tons, laden 
with wine, belonging to the French : a galley, name unknown, 
burden fifty tons, in ballast : a tartane, name unknown, burden 
tliirty.five tons, laden with wine : a bark, name unknown, laden 
with powder, drove on shore : a bark, name unknown, laden 
with provisions, burnt. 

* This nobleman is the descendant of a respectable and ancient 
family in the county of Stafford ; being the second son of Swinfen 
Jervis, Esq. barrister at law, sometime counsel to the board of 
admiralty, and auditor of Greenwich Hospital. He entered early 
in life into the sea service, and served about the year 1 749 on 

5 



26 MEMOIRS OF 

cent, who in the month of April, 1796, promoted 
Captain Nelson to the rank of temporary commodore, 

board the Gloucester, a fourth rate then on the Jamaica station. 
On the 19th of February, 1755, he was promoted to a lieutenan- 
cy, and acted in that capacity on board the flag- ship of Sir Charles 
Saunders, on the expedition as^iinst Quebec. Being in 1759 ad- 
vanced to the rank of commander, he was early in the ensuing 
year appointed to the Albany sloop of war, stationed in tlie Medi- 
terranean, whereon account of the illness of Sir John Strachan 
he took upon him the temporary command of the Experiment of 
twenty guns ; in which ship he distinguished himself in an en- 
gagement with a large xebec, under Moorish colours, carrying 
twenty-six guns, but chiefly rnanned with French sailors, which 
after a severe contest was obliged to take advantage of the wind 
and make her escape. He was promoted to the rank of a post-cap- 
tain, and appointed to the Gosport of forty-four guns on the 1 3th 
of October following: in that ship he continued during the whole 
war, being employed for some time on the home service ; and 
during the latter part of his command on the Mediterranean sta- 
tion. On his return to England in 1763, the Gosport was put out 
of commission, and Mr. Jervis received no other commission till 
he w^as appointed in 1 769 to the Alarm, of thirty-two guns, in 
which frigate he proceeded almost immediately to the Mediter- 
ranean, and had the honour of entertaining on board his ship the 
Due de Chablais, brother to the king of Sardinia, who made him 
some valuable presents. He continued on that station in the same 
ship, till 177S, and being a short time before his return to Eng- 
land, in 1775, promoted to the Foudroyant of eighty guns, re- 
mained captain of her till the year 17S3. During this whole pe- 
riod of time, only two opportunities sufficiently interesting occur- 
red In which Mr. Jervis could distinguish himself, which was in 
the encounter with the Count D'Orvilllers, on the 27th of July, 
177cS, when he was stationed as one of the seconds to the com- 
mander in chief, and most gallantly supported the honour of his 
country. He continued employed under various commanders 
without any thing material occurring, except the common rou- 



LORD NELSON. 27 

with a distinguishing pendant, which he accordingly 
hoisted, in the first instance, on board his old ship 

tine of service, till the year 17S2, when in the month of April, 
being under the orders of Vice-Admiral Barrington, who was 
sent in pursuit of a French squadron destined for the East Indies, 
he came up with and attacked the Pegasee, a French ship of se- 
venty-four guns, which struck to the Foudroyant, after a gallant 
action. The admiral in his dispatches took such particular notice 
of this engagement, that on his return into port he was honoured 
with the order of the Bath. During the encounter he received a 
wound by a splinter which struck him on the right temple, and 
aflfected his eye so much, that the consequences have never since 
been completely removed. Early in 1783, Sir John quitted the 
Foudroyant, and hoisted his broad pendant on board the Salisbu- 
ry of fifty guns, as commodore of a squadron intended for a secret 
expedition; but peace taking place, this was consequently laid 
aside. He now experienced some relaxation from his naval duty, 
as he took on himself no subsequent command till the year 1790. 
During the intermediate period, he was in 1784 elected represen- 
tative in parliament for Yarmouth in Norfolk, on the 21th of Sep- 
tember, 1787, was raised to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue ; 
as he was also on the 21st of September 1790 to the same rank 
in the white. On the apprehension of a rupture with Spain, rela- 
tive to Nootka Sound, in that year. Sir John was appointed to 
be captain of the fleet equipped on the occasion. The dispute be- 
ing, however, accommodated, it never proceeded to sea. He 
had been chosen member for Chipping Wycombe at the general 
election which took place in the above year. On the 1st of Feb- 
ruary, 1793, he v/as advanced to be vice-admiral of the blue ; 
and having hoisted his flag on board the Barfleur, sailed in the 
ensuing year with a squadron, of which he had accepted the com- 
mand, to the West-Indies ; on which occasion he vacated his seat 
in parliament. His conduct, while on this service, became the 
subject of parliamentary inquiry, and is too recent in the minds 
of all to need any comment, particularly as there may still exist 
persons, who, notwithstanding the highly honourable ^nd favoura- 



28 MEMOIRS OF 

the Agamemnon, but in the ensuing month removed 
into the Captain of seventy-four guns, and in the 

able decision of the house of parliament, entertain diflFerent sen- 
timents of the transactions which took place during that period. 

After the return of Sir John to England, he was in the month 
of June, 1795, advanced from the rank of vice-admiral of the 
white, to which he had been raised on the 12th of April, in the 
preceding year, to be admiral of the blue, and was appointed to 
be commander in chief on the Mediterranean station; he accord- 
ingly proceeded thither in a frigate. Nothing, however, of con- 
sequence occurred in those seas, and Sir John having quitted the 
Mediterranean, repaired to Lisbon. On the l^th of February, 
1797, being then off Cape St. Vincent, he fell in with the Span- 
ish fleet. Its force consisted of twentj'^-seven sail of the line, 
seven of them first rates, carrying from one hundred to one hun- 
dred and twenty-six guns, while the ships under the orders of 
Sir John amounted to only fifteen. He, however, determined to 
engage them. The result was glorious to himself, and to his 
country. His own dispatch will best explain the event. 

" Victory, off Lagos Bay, February 16. 
" Sir, 

" The hopes of falling in with the Spanish fleet, expressed in my 
letter to you of the 13th inst. were confirmed that night by our 
distinctly hearing the report of their signal-guns, and by intelli- 
gence received from Captain Focte, of his majesty's ship Niger, 
who had, with equal judgment and perseverance, kept company 
with them for several days on my prescribed rendezvous, which, 
from the strong south-east winds, I had never been able to reach ; 
and that they were not more than three or four leagues from us. 
I anxiously waited the dawn of day, when, being on the starboard 
tack, Cape St. Vincent bearing east by north eight leagues, I had 
the satisfaction of seeing a number of ships extending from south- 
west to south, the wind then at west by south. At forty minutes 
past ten, the weather being extremely hazy. La Bonne Citoyenne 
made the signal that the ships were of the line, twenty-five in 
number: his majesty's squadron consisting of the fifteen ships of 



LORD NELSON. 29 

month of August following was established in perma- 
nent rank, having a captain appointed to command 

the line named in the margin, were happily formed in the most 
complete order of sailing in two lines. By carrying a press of sail, 
I was fortunate in getting in with the enemy's fleet at half past 
eleven o'clock, before it had time to connect and form a regular 
order of battle. Such a moment was not to be lost ; and, confident 
in the skill, valour, and discipline of the officers and men I had the 
happiness to command, and judging that the honour of his majes- 
ty's arms, and the circumstances of the war in these seas, required 
a considerable degree of enterprise, I felt myself justified in de- 
parting from the regular system, and passing through their fleet 
in a line formed with the utmost celerity, tacked, and thereby sep- 
arated one-third from the main body. After a partial cannonade, 
which prevented their rej unction till the evening, and by the very 
great exertions of the ships which had the good fortune to arrive 
up with the enemy on the larboard tack, the ships named in the 
margin were captured, and the action ceased about five o'clock in 
the evening. I enclose the most correct list I have been able to 
obtain of the Spanish fleet opposed to me, amounting to twenty- 
seven sail of the line, and an account of the killed and wounded 
in his majesty's ships, as well as in those taken from the enemy. 
The moment the latter, almost totally dismasted, and his majes- 
ty's ships, the Captain and Culloden, are in a state to put to sea, 
I shall avail myself of the first favourable winds to proceed off 
Cape St. Vincent, in my way to Lisbon. Captain Calder, whose 
able assistance has greatly contributed to the public service during 
my command, is the bearer of this, and will more particularly 
describe to the lords commissioners of the admiralty, the move- 
ments of the squadron on the fourteenth, and the present state of it. 

I am, &c. 

«J. Jervis." 

*' Evan Nepean, Esq." &c. &c. 

The ships captured in this action were the Salvador del Mund» 
of one hundred and twelve guns, the San Josef of one hundred 
and twelve, the S^n Nicholas, of eighty- four, and the San Isidoro, 



so MEMOIRS OF 

under him in the ship just mentioned.* The services 
on which he was employed till nearly the close of the 

of seven ty-four. On the occason of tliis great victory, exclusive of 
inferior honours, Sir John was raised to the dignity of a baron and 
earl of Great-Britain, by the titles of Baron Jervis of Melford, in 
the county of Stafford, the place of his birth, and Earl of St Vin- 
cent ; a pension of three thousand a year vi^as also bestowed on 
him by parliament. His lordship continued for the space of two 
years either occupied in the blockade of Cadiz, or in sending oS 
detachments of his fleet where he thought it necessary. The most 
important of these was that put under the orders of the late Lord 
Nelson, which paved the way for the glorious victory of Aboukir. 
On the 14th of February, 1799, he was advanced to the rank of 
admiral of the white squadron, and finding his health impaired, 
returned to England in the month of July. In October following, 
he received a challenge from Sir John Orde, who thought him- 
self aggrieved by his having employed Sir Horatio Nelson on the 
above occasion, in preference to himself, who was a senior officer. 
The circumstances, however, becoming known to the friends of 
both parties, they were prevented from proceeding to extremi- 
ties, and bound over to keep the peace. His lordship recovered 
his health sufficiently to take upon him the command of the Bri- 
tish force in the channel in the month of April, 1800. He imme- 
diately proceeded to watch the motions of the enemy off Brest. 
On the 26th of August, 1800, he was appointed lieutenant-gen- 
eral of his majesty's marine forces, and on the 21st of April, 1801, 
was created a viscount of the united kingdom of Great-Britain 
and Ireland, by the title of Viscount St. Vincent, of Melford, 
with remainder in succession to his nephews, and their heirs. 
Having been appointed, on the 21st of February preceding, first 
commissioner for executing the office of lord high admiral, he 
continued to hold that station till the month of May, 1804, since 
v/hich time he has not taken upon himself any employment, ei- 
ther in the line of active service, or in the civil department ; but 
on the 9th of November, 1805, his lordship was raised to the 
rank of admiral of the red squadron. 

* It is said to have been observed in the Mediterranean, that 



LORD NELSON. 31 

year, were extremely important, although they af- 
forded him no opportunity of displaying that brillian- 
cy of character which have so uninterruptedly marked 
the greater part of the enterprizes in which he was 
engaged. The blockade of Leghorn, the capture of 
Porto Ferrajo, together with the island of Caprea, 
and the evacuation of Bastia, were each of them em- 
ployments that required the most consummate abili- 
ties, the most spirited activity, and the soundest 
judgment ; and where all were equally conspicuous, 
it would be derogating from one species of merit, to 
bestow any particular commendation on another. 

After having convoyed the British troops which 
had been employed in garrisoning the island of Cor- 
sica, to Porto Ferrajo, commodore Nelson proceed- 
ed to St. Fiorenzo hiv/, where he rejoined the com- 
mander in chief, and immediately afterwards accom- 
panied him to Gibraltar. In the month of Decem- 
ber he received instructions to remove his broad 
pendant on board La Minerve, a frigate of thirty-two 
guns, commanded by Captain George Cockburn ; and 
the Blanche frigate, of the same force commanded by 
Captain Preston, being put under his orders, he was 
directed to proceed to Porto Ferrajo, for the purpose 
of conveying from thence the depot of naval stores 
which had been formed there, during the time the 
British fleet was stationed in the Mediterranean, to 

before Captain Nelson quitted the Agamemnon, he had fairly 
worn her out. When that ship came into dock to be refitted, in 
the month of October, 1796, she had not a mast, yard, or sail 
fit for service. The hull also had been for a long time secured 
and kept together by cables properly served round her. 



32 MEMOIRS OF ' 

Gibraltar, where they were much wanted, in conse- 
quence of the change of station necessarily occasioned 
by the commencement of the war with Spain. While 
on his passage thither, the commodore had the for- 
tune to fall in with two large Spanish frigates, during 
the night of the 19th of December. The command- 
ing ship carried a poop light, and was immediately 
attacked by Mr. Nelson, who at the same time di- 
rected the Blanche to engage her consort. The en- 
counter between the commodore and his antagonist 
commenced about forty minutes past ten at night ; 
and after an unremitted as well as most spirted con- 
test, which continued nearly three hours, the enemy's 
ship was compelled to surrender, having had one 
hundred and sixty-four men killed and wounded. 
Her mizen mast had fallen in the action ; her main 
and fore masts were also so severely wounded that 
both of them went away on her first attempt to carry 
sail after her surrender. The prize was named La 
Sabina, a frigate of the first class, mounting forty 
guns ; those on her main deck, being twenty-eight 
in number, were eighteen-pounders. 

While the Minerve was thus engaged. Captain 
Preston, in the Blanche, most gallantly bore his share 
in the encounter, and effectually silenced his anta- 
gonist, but was prevented from taking possession of 
his defeated enemy, by the appearance of three other 
Spanish ships, which bore down on the conquerors. 
The commodore was on his part scarcely less unsuc- 
cessful ; for although possession was taken of his 
prize, the same cause which rescused that of Captain 
Preston from his hands, operated little less forcibly 



LORD NELSON. 55 

With respect to himself. The Sabina and the Mi- 
nerve steered different courses, and the masts of the 
former not being able, as already related, to support 
a pressure of sail, they both fell by the board, and, as 
a natural consequence, the Sabina again reverted into 
the possession of her former masters. Owing, how- 
ever to the exertions of the commodore, together with 
the rest of the officers of the Minerve and Blanche, 
those ships were most gallantly and happily rescued 
from experiencing a fate equally grievous.*" 

* La Sabina was scarcely taken possession of, when a second 
frigate belonging to the enemy made her appearance, and be- 
gan to engage the Minerve : but, after a fruitless contest of half 
an hour's continuance, thought proper to haul her wind, or, as the 
commodore himself expressed his opinion, he was confident she 
would have shared the fate of her companion. At the dawn of 
day, two of the vessels in sight were discovered to be Spanish 
ships of the line, when, owing to the diversion of pursuit, afford- 
ed by Lieutenant Culverhouse, who was appointed to command 
La Sabina, pro tempore, and who, while the crippled state of his 
masts permitted him to make sail, steered an opposite course to 
that of the commodore, added, as above related, to the exertions 
of the latter, and those he commanded, the further progress of 
the misfortune was arrested. 

With that modesty peculiar to himself, and which so nobly 
characterised his conduct on all occasions. Captain Nelson as- 
sumed not to himself the slightest merit on the foregoing occa- 
sion. A repetition of his ovm words will in themselves afford 
the praise best adapted to such heroic conduct. 

" You are, sir," said he, " so thoroughly acquainted with the 
merits of Captain Cockburn, that it is needless for me to express 
them ; but the discipline of La Minerve does the highest credit 
to her captain and lieutenant, and I wish fully to express the 
sense I have of their judgment and gallantry. Lieutenant Cul- 
verhouse, the first lieutenant, is an old officer of very distinguish- 

G 



34 MEMOIRS OF 

Commodore Nelson having executed the object of 
his mission, sailed from Porto Ferrajo in the Mi- 
nerve, on the 29th of January, for the purpose of re- 
joining the commander in chief. Sir Gilbert Elliott, 
afterwards Lord Minto, the late viceroy of Corsica, 
together with lieutenant- colonel Drinkwater, and di- 
vers odier persons belonging to his suite, had taken 
their passage on board the Miner ve ; and the com- 
modore after having studiously endeavoured to ob- 
tain every possible information in his power relative 
to the enemy's force and future intentions, by recon- 
noitring all the principal ports in the Mediterranean, 
proceeded for Gibraltar, where he arrived a few days 
after the Spanish fleet from Carthagena had passed 
through the Streights. Burning with impatience to 
assume a more active and useful station than the 
command of a frigate could possibly afford him, when 
a serious contest with the enemy appeared more than 
probable, he remained at Gibraltar only one day, and 
in the course of his passage to the westward, towards 
the appointed place of rendezvous, was on the 11th 
of February not only chased by two Spanish line of 
battle ships, but was also in sight of their whole fleet 
off" the entrance of the Streights. He was fortunate 

ed merit. Lieutenants Hardy, Gage, and Noble deserve every 
praise which gallantry and zeal justly entitled them to; as does 
every other officer and man in the ship. 

" You will observe, sir, I am sure, with regret, among the 
wounded, Lieutenant James Noble, who quitted the Captain to 
serve with me, and whose merits and repeated wounds received 
in lighting the enemies of our country, entitle him to every re- 
Ward a grateful nation can bestow." 



LORD NELSON. 35 

enough, however, to effect not only his escape, but 
his junction with the admiral, and the fleet, on the 
13th of February. The important intelligence he 
brought, was the prelude to the future success ; and 
as he had been the happy means of first conveying to 
the admiral information of the near approach of the 
enemy, so did he in the glorious contest which pre- 
sently succeeded, prove the principal cause of eft'ect- 
ing their discomfiture and defeat. 

Immediately on his arrival, he shifted his broad 
pendant on board his former ship the Captain ; and, as 
it is reported, had not effected his removal many mi- 
nutes, ere the signal was made that the British fleet 
should prepare for action ; the ships which composed 
it being directed to keep in close and compact order 
during the night. As to the event of the action, few 
Englishmen can be ignorant; of the circumstances 
which led to that event, the greater part of them may 
be but partially informed, perhaps, notwithstanding 
a variety of documents have already been printed and 
re-printed in a multitude of forms, each of them at- 
tempting to illustrate a period so interesting to the 
feelings of Britons, but unhappily, through an infinity 
of causes, all failing to produce the wished-for inten- 
tion and the desired effect. Of these, according to 
the ordinary course of precedence, the official, or gar 
zette account, claims the first mention. No particu- 
lar observation is made on the conduct of commodore 
Nelson : and that circumstance, perhaps, paradoxical 
as it may appear, is in itself a matter of the highest 
praise ; for it is the natural infirmity of the human 
mind to be silent as to the promulgation of that worth 



36 MEMOIRS OF 

which it feels itself shrink as it were from the task of 
paying sufficient tribute to* 

The next account we shall beg leave to notice, as 
well as to insert, is a short memorandum,*^ made by 
the commodore himself, presently after the encoun- 
ter, in which, with his customary delicacy with res- 
pect to himself, he attributes the highest possible 
praise to those employed under his orders, who aided 
in effecting the glorious achievement, but is totally 
silent as to those energies produced and raised to ma- 
turity in his own mind, which gave birth to so glori- 
ous and brilliant a conclusion. 

" At one, P.M." observes the commodore, " the 
Captain having passed the sternmost of the enemy's 
ships, which formed their van, and part of their cen- 
tre, consisting of seventeen sail of the line, they on 
the larboard, we on the starboard tack, the admiral 
made the signal to tack in sucnession ; but perceiving 
all the Spanish ships to bear up before tlie wind, 
evidently with the intention of forming their line, go- 
ing large, and joining their separated divisions, at that 
time engaged with some of our centre ships, or flying 
from us — to prevent either of their schemes from ta- 
king place, I ordered the ship to be wore, and passing 
between the Diadem and Excellent, at a quarter past 
one o'clock, was engaged with the headmost, and, of 
course, leewardmost of the Spanish division. The 
ships which I knew were the Santissima Trinidada, 
of one hundred and thirty-six guns, San Josef, of one 
hundred and twelve, Salvador del Mundo, of one 

* See Appendix, No. XLVI. 



LORD NELSON. 37 

hunclred and twelve, San Nicholas, eighty ; another 
first -rate, and a seventy-four, names unknown. 

" I was immediately joined, and most nobly sup- 
ported, by the Cuiloden, Captain Troubridge. The 
Spanish fleet, not wishing, I suppose, to have a deci- 
sive battle, hauled to the wind on the larboard tack, 
which brought the ships above mentioned to be the 
leewardmost and sternmost ships in their fleet. For 
near an hour I believe (but I do not pretend to be cor- 
rect as to time) did the Cuiloden and Captain sup- 
port this not only apparently but really unequal con- 
test ; when the Blenheim passing between us and the 
enemy, gave us a respite, and sickened the Dons. 
At this time the Salvador del Mundo, and San Isi- 
doro, dropped astern, and were fired into in a master- 
ly style by the Excellent, Captain Collingwood, who 
compelled the San Isidoro to hoist English colours ; 
and I thought the large ship, Salvador del Mundo, 
had also struck : but Captain Collingwood, disdain- 
ing the parade of taking possesion of a vanquished 
enemy, most gallantly pushed up with every sail set, 
to save his old friend and messmate, who was to ap- 
pearance in a critical state. The Blenheim being- 
ahead, the Cuiloden crippled and astern, the Excel- 
lent ranged up within two feet of the San Nicholas 
giving a most tremendous fire. The San Nicholas 
lufiing up, the San Josef fell on board her, and the 
Excellent passing on for the Santissima Trinidada, 
the Captain resumed her station abreast of them, and 
close alongside. At this time the Captain having 
lost her fore-top- mast, not a sail, shroud, nor rope 
left, her wheel away, and incapable of further service 



S8 MEMOIRS OF 

in the line or in chase, I directed Captain Miller to 
put the helm a-starboard, and calling for the boai-ders, 
ordered them to board. The soldiers of the sixty- 
ninth, with an alacrity which will ever do them cre- 
dit, and Lieutenant Pearson of the same regiment, 
were almost the foremost on this service. The first 
man who jumped into the enemy's mizzen chains 
was Captain Berry, late my first lieutenant (Captain 
Miller was in the act of going also, but I directed 
him to remain ; ) he was supported by our spritsail 
yard, which hooked in the mizzen rigging. A sol- 
dier of the sixty-ninth regiment having broken the 
upper quarter gallery window, I jumped in myself, 
and was followed by others as fust as possible. I 
found the cabin doors, fastened, and some Spanish 
officers fired their pistols ; but having broke open the 
doors, the soldiers fired, and the Spanish brigadier 
(commodore, with a distinguishing pendant) fell, as 
retreating to the quarter-deck. I pushed immediate- 
ly onwards for the quarter-deck, where I found Cap- 
tain Berry in possession of the poop, and the Spanish 
ensign hauling down. I passed with my people, and 
lieutenant Pearson, on the larboard gang- way to the 
forecastle, where I met two or three Spanish officers, 
prisoners to my seamen : they delivered me their 
swords. A fire of pistols or musquets opening from 
the admiral's stern-gallery of the San Josef, I direct- 
ed the soldiers to fire into her stern, and calling to 
Captain Miller, ordered him to send more men into 
the San Nicholas, and directed my people to board 
the first rate, which was done in an instant ; Captain 
Berry assisting me into the jnain chains. At this 



LORD NELSON 39 

moment a Spanish officer looked over the quarter- 
deck rail, and said they surrendered. From this 
most welcome intelligence, it was not long before I 
was on the quarter-deck, where the Spanish captain, 
with a bow, presented mfe his sword, and said the ad- 
miral was dying of his wounds. I asked him on his 
honour if the ship had surrendered. He declared 
she had, on which I gave him my hand, and desired 
him to call on his officers and ship's company and 
tell them of it ; and, on the quarter-deck of a Spanisli 
first-rate, extra'oagant as the story may seem, did Ire- 
cei'De the swords ofiianqiiished Spaniards, ivhich as I 
received I gaise to John Sykes, one of my bargemen, 
V) ho put them ivith the greatest sang f raid under his 
■arm. I was surrounded by Captain Berry, Lieuten- 
ant Pearson of the sixty-ninth regiment, John Sykes, 
John Thompson, Francis Cooke (all old Agamem- 
nons) and several other brave men, seamen and sol- 
diers. Thus fell these ships. 

*' N. B. In boarding the San Nicholas, I believe 
we lost about seven killed and ten wounded ; and 
about twenty Spaniards lost their lives by a foolish 
resistance. None were lost I believe in boarding 
the San Josef." 

A lively description of the great event alluded to is 
given by Lieutenant-Colonel Drinkwater, who, as it 
has been already related, had taken his passage from 
Porto Ferrajo on board the Minerve, in company 
with Sir Gilbert Elliott, and having removed into the 
Lively, that ship was, at the express solicitation of 
the viceroy, permitted to continue with the fleet, that 
the impatience of the latter might be gratified as ex- 



40 MEMOIRS OF 

peditiously ar, possible with regard to the result of 
the encounter. 
^'- «' When Sir John Jervis," says the licutenant-colO" 

iiel in his narrative, " on the 14th of February, had 
accomplished his bold intention of breaking the ene- 
my's line, the Spanish admiral, who had been sepa- 
rated to windward with his main bodv, consisting; of 
eighteen ships of the line, from nine ships that were 
cut off to leeward, appeared to make a movement as 
if with a view to join the latter. This design was 
completely frustrated by the timely opposition of 
Commodore Nelson, whose station in the rear of the 
British line afforded him an opportunity of observing 
this manoeuvre. His ship, the Captain, had no soon- 
er passed the rear of the enemy's that were to wind- 
ward, than he ordered her to wear, and stood on the 
other tack towards the enemy. 

" In executing this bold and decisive manoeuvre, 
the commodore reached the sixth ship from the ene- 
my's rear, which bore the Spanish admiral's flag, the 
Santissima Trinidada, of one hundred and thirty-six 
guns, a ship of four decks, reported to be the largest 
in the world. Notwithstanding the inequality of the 
force, the commodore instantly engaged diis colossal 
opponent, and for a considerable time had to contend 
not only with her but with her seconds, a-head and 
a- stern, each of three decks. While he maintained 
this unequal combat, which was viewed with admi- 
ration, mixed with anxiety, his friends were flying to 
his support. The enemy's attention was soon direct- 
ed to ihe Culloden, Captain Troubridge ; and in a 
short time after to the Blenheim, of ninety guns, Cap- 



/ LORD NELSON. 41 

tain Frederick, who opportunely came to his assist- 
ance. 

" The intrepid conduct of the commodore stagger- 
ed the Spanish admiral, who already appeared to wa- 
ver in pursuing his intention of joining the ships cut 
off by the British fleet, when the CuUoden's timely 
arrival, and Captain Troubridge's spirited support of 
the commodore, together with the approach of the ^% 

Blenheim, followed by Rear-admiral Parker, with the 
Prince George, Orion, Irresistible and Diadem, not 
far distant, determined the Spanish admiral to change 
his design altogether, and to throw out the signal for 
the ships' main body to haul their wind, and to make 
sail on the larboard tack. 

"Not a moment was lost in improving the advaji- 
tagenow apparent in favour of the British. As the 
ships of Rear-admiral Parker's division approached 
the enemy's ships, in support of the Captain, Com- 
modore Nelson's ship, and her gallant seconds, the 
Blenheim and CuUoden, the cannonade became more 
animated and impressive. In this manner did Com- 
modore Nelson engage a Spanish three-decker, until 
he had nearly expended all the ammunition in his 
ship, which had suffered the loss of her fore-top- 
mast, and received such considerable damage in her 
sails and rigging, that she was almost rendered /lors 
du combat. At this critical period, the Spanish three- 
decker having lost her mizen mast, fell on board a 
Spanish two-decker of eighty-four guns, that was 
her second : this latter ship consequently now be- 
came the commodore's opponent, and a most vigo- 
rous fire was kept up for some time by both ships, 
within pistol shot. 7 



42 MEMOIRS OF 

" It was now that the commodore's ship lost ma- 
ny men, and that the damages already sustained, 
through the long and arduous conflict which she had 
sustained, appeared to render a continuance of the 
contest in the usual way precarious or perhaps im- 
possible. At this critical moment the commodore, 
from a sudden impulse, instantly resolved on a bold 
and decisive measure ; and determined, whatever 
might be the event, to attempt his opponent sword 
in hand. The boarders were summoned, and orders 
given to lay his ship on board the enemy. 

" Fortune favours the brave ! nor on this occasion 
was she unmindful of her favourite. Ralph Willet 
Miller, the commodore's captain, so judiciously di- 
rected the course of the ship, that he laid her aboard 
the starboard quarter of the Spanish eighty-four : her 
spritsail-yard passing over the enemy's poop, and 
hooking in her mizen-shrouds ; when the word to 
board being given, the officers and seamen destined 
for this perilous duty, headed by Lieutenant Berry, 
together with the detachment of the sixty-ninth regi- 
ment, commanded by Lieutenant Pearson, then do- 
ing duty as marines on board the Captain, passed with 
rapidity on board the enemy's ship; and in a short 
time the San Nicholas was in possession of her intre- 
pid assailants. The commodore's ardour would not 
permit him to remain an inactive spectator of this 
scene. He was aware the attempt v/as hazardous ; 
and he thought his presence might animate his brave 
companions, and contribute to the success of this bold 
enterprise : he therefore, as if by magic impulse, ac- 
companied the party in this attack ; passing from the 



LORD NELSON, 43 

fore-chains of his own ship into the enemy's quarter- 
gallery, and thence through the cabin to the quarter- 
deck, where he arrived in time to receive the sword 
of the dying commander, who had been mortally 
wounded by the boarders. 

"He had not been long employed in taking the ne- 
cessary measures to secure this hard-earned conquest, 
when he found himself engaged in a more arduous 
task. The stern of the three-decker, his former op- 
ponent, was placed directly a-midships of the weather 
beam of the prize San Nicholas ; and from her poop 
and galleries the enemy sorely annoyed with mus- 
quetry the British who had boarded the San Nicholas. 
The commodore was not long in resolving on the con- 
duct to be adopted on this momentous occasion. The 
two alternatives that presented themselves to his vm- 
shaken mind, were, to quit the prize, or instantly 
board the three-decker. Confident of the bravery of 
his seamen, he determined on the latter. Directing, 
therefore, an additional number of men to be sent 
from the Captain on board the San Nicholas, the un- 
daunted commodore, whom no danger ever appalled, 
headed himself the assailants in this new attack, ex- 
claiming, Westminster Abbey ! or glorious 

VICTORY ! 

*' Success in a few minutes, and with little loss, 
crowned the enterprize. Such indeed was the panic 
occasioned by his preceding conduct, that the British 
no sooner appeared on the quarter-deck of their new 
opponent, than the commandant advanced, and ask- 
ing for the British commanding officer, dropped on 
one knee, and presented his sword, apologizing at 



44 MEMOIRS OF 

the same time for the Spanish admiral's not appear- 
ing, as he was dangerously wounded. For a moment 
commodore Nelson could scarcely persuade himself 
of this second instance of good fortune : he therefore 
ordered the Spanish commandant, who had the rank 
of a brigadier, to assemble the officers on the quarter- 
deck, and direct means to be taken instantly for com- 
municating to the crew the surrender of the ship. — 
All the officers immediately appeared ; and the com- 
modore had the surrender of the San Josef duly con- 
ferred by each of them delivering his sword. 

" The coxswain of the commodore's barge, John 
Sykes, since dead, had attended close by his side 
throughout this perilous attempt : to him the com- 
modore gave in charge the sM-ords of the Spanish of- 
ficers as he received them : and the undaunted tar, 
as they were delivered to him, tucked these honour- 
able trophies under his arm, with all the coolness 
imasfinable. It was at this moment also that a Bri- 
tish sailor, who had fought under the commodore, 
came up in the fulness of his heart, and excusing the 
liberty he was taking, asked to shake him by the 
hand, to congratulate him upon seeing him safe on 
the quarter deck of a Spanish three-decker. 

"This new conquest had scarcely submitted, and 
the commodore returned on board the San Nicholas, 
when the latter ship was discovered to be on fire in 
two places. At the first moment appearances were 
alarming ; but the presence of mind and resources of 
the commodore and his officers, in this emergency, 
soon got the fire under. 



LORD NELSON. 45 

«' A signal was made by the Captain for boats to 
assist in disentangling her from the two prizes ; and 
as she was incapable of further service until refitted, 
the commodore again hoisted his broad pendant, for 
the moment, on board la Minervc frigate ; and in 
the evening shifted it to the Irresistible, Captain 
Martin : but as soon as the Captain was refitted, he 
re-hoisted his pendant on board the latter ship. 

" As a reward for such distinguished gallantry on 
the 14th of February, he received the insignia of the 
Bath and the gold medal from his sovereign ; and 
was also presented with the freedom of the city of 
London in a gold box.*" 

* In the council- chamber of the hall in the market place at 
Norwich, is erected the following device, a memorial of the 
glorious action of the 14th of February, 1797. An anchor, to 
which are suspended a yard and sail, supposed to have been 
shot away in action ; on the latter is inscribed : " The sword of 
the Spanish admiral Don Xavier Winthuysen, who died of the 
wounds he received in an engagement with the British fleet un- 
der the command of Admiral Earl of St Vincent, 14th of Febru- 
ary, 1797) which ended in the most brilliant victory ever obtain- 
ed by this country over the enemy at sea, wherein the heroic 
valour and cool determined courage of Rear-admiral Sir Hora- 
tio Nelson, K. B. had ample scope for their display. He be- 
ing a native of Norfolk, honoured the city by presenting this 
sword surrendered to him in that action." From the flukes of 
the anchor the sword is suspended ; underneath is the coat of 
arms of Sir Horatio Nelson, which was given to him by the 
king. The crest is the stern of a man of war, and the suppor- 
ters a sailor bearing a British lion, trampling on the Spanish 
colours. The motto, " Faith and works." The whole is neat- 
ly executed by Mr. Windham of that city. 



46 MEMOIRS OF 

In the preceding account, the colonel, it must in 
justice be owned, pays the most grateful tribute to 
the personal bravery and gallantry of the commodore, 
but does not enter sufficiently into a description, and 
that, certainly, necessary eulogium on the splendid 
display of his abilities, without which, on so trying 
an occasion, the most consummate gallantry in the 
universe, even though it had been possible for it to 
have exceeded that of the commodore himself, would 
have proved but of little avail. With all that promp- 
titude which is the certain characteristic of a great 
and active mind, be found the bold manoeuvre, exe- 
cuted by order of the commander in chief, would 
fail in its effect, unless the most decisive measures 
were adopted to prevent the reunion of the main body 
of the fleet with those ships from which the Spanish 
admiral had been separated. The moment was aw- 
ful ; for, glorious as the opportunity might be, any 
failure in the measure taken by the commodore might 
have been productive of mischief to his friends, and 
the most serious injury to his country. He felt, 
however, the magnitude of his own powers ; and in 
the full consciousness of that magnitude, he seized 
the crown of victory, which providence herself ap- 
pears to have destined he should wear. It is not a 
little remarkable that each of the triumphs obtained 
by this noble person over the foes of his country, has 
rested entirely on the exertions of his own abilities, 
and strength of mind, without being indebted in the 
slightest degree, to any of those fortuitous circum- 
stances, which have at different periods decided the 
fate of battles, and of nations. By the rapidity of 



LORD NELSOI^. 47 

his conception, and the celerity with which he carri- 
ed it into execution on the present occasion, the 
world was taught a lesson, which, before that' day, 
would have been considered romantic and ridicu- 
lous, that the presence of one man may supply the 
deficiency of thousands, and render the event of bat- 
tle at least doubtful, against the most fearful odds. 

In contests between armies, such occurrences are 
neither, perhaps, new nor uncommon. The march 
of battalions, regulated with more certainty, and ea- 
sily applicable with the most correct exactness, to 
the execution of any measure which the abilities of a 
great and consummate general may have contrived, 
have rendered the operations and success of an army 
in a great measure reducible to certain principles, so 
that science may, without its becoming a matter of 
wonder, be the arbiter of contest. In naval encoun- 
ters the case was ever considered as widely different. 
To contend against an enemy so manifestly superior,* 
would have been considered, in the general accepta- 
tion of the world, an act of the most unpardonable 
rashness, if not of madness itself. It was the lot of 
Lord Nelson to prove to that world, that such an 
opinion M-as erroneous; that the duties of a naval 
commander consisted not merely in ranging his fleet 
m a regular line, or even in placing his ships on the 
bow or quarter of his antagonist ; that the cold sys- 
tem of regular tactics, till then almost in invariable 
use, and from which it was considered a crime of the 
highest magnitude, even for a moment, to depart, 
^vas an insult to the understandmg of naval comman-' 
dcrs, by imputing to them the want of ability to con- 



48 MEMOIRS OF 

trive, or a power to execute measures similar to 
those, which, when applied to military operations^, 
had frequently conferred victory on the weak. 

It will not, however, be improper to remark in 
this place, what infinitely superior energies are in- 
dispensably required in the mind of a naval comman- 
der, beyond those of the man, who may be placed at 
the head of the most extensive armies. The gene- 
ral, surrounded by the ablest men he can select, aid- 
ed by the completest information as to every particu- 
lar, that can strengthen his mind or assist his judg- 
ment, forms those plans, cooly and deliberately, he 
arranges all his different combinations of attack, 
which he may, without trusting much to the doc- 
trine of chances, depend on being successful. At- 
tended by his aid-de-camps he takes his station on 
the spot most convenient to his purpose, and the 
operations of his army are conducted as it were by 
clock work, according to the will of him, who be- 
comes the ruling power. Suppose him at the worst 
foiled in any, or even in the major part of his pro- 
jects, the scientific resources of his mind will allow 
him to repair misfortune, remedy disaster, and pre- 
vent defeat. His mind, in great measure abstracted 
from the bustle of the neighbouring scene, is left at 
full liberty to display the natural scope of his abili- 
ties. With an admiral, or naval commander, the 
case is widely different ; all his measures may be 
disconcerted in an instant. It was considered, till 
Lord Nelson first proved the opinion erroneous, im- 
possible to lay down any established form of battle, 
inasmuch as it must depend on events and circum- 



LORD NELSON. 49 

stances, which were not withm the controul of man. 
A change of the wind, even in a trivial degree, or 
a few chance shot, fortunately destructive in their 
eifect, might, it was found, render ineffectual the 
best concerted plans. Every single ship was to be 
considered as a battalion which might be disabled or 
annihilated in an instant, and at the very moment too 
when her co-operation was most necessary. Oji that 
account, perhaps it was considered nugatory to pro- 
pose the adoption of any system deviating in the 
smallest degree from the simplest practice, because it 
never might be in the power of the most able com- 
mander to carry such system into proper effect. To 
overcome this prejudice required an exertion, which 
none but the greatest minds were capable of carrying 
into actual practice. It had, on some occasions, 
been partially attempted to have been removed ; but 
it remained for the genius of Commodore Nelson to 
dispel, like the meridian sun, the cloud which had 
so long obscured the best energies of nautical know- 
ledge.* 

* The personal exertions of Commodore Nelson on this occa- 
sion, must raise him on account of the peculiar circumstances 
that attended them, higher than perhaps any man, either nauti- 
cal or military, who ever preceded him in the line of the most 
active service. To act, and to think, are two very different qua- 
lities of the human mind, and, generally speaking, destroy each 
other ; but in this noble person we find them most happily blend- 
ed, and exhibited in the most brilliant colours, so that we scarce- 
ly know which most to admire, the activity of his mind, which 
caused him to make the attempt, or the very great personal gal- 
lantry which he displayed in the prosecution of it. 

8 



50 MEMOIRS OF 

What praise, what admiration, can be considered 
too romantic to be bestowed on the man, who, sur- 
rounded by that terrific confusion invariably attend- 
ant on naval contests, can in one instant contrive, 
and on the next moment execute a measure that the 
host of his antagonists, a circumstance which future 
ages might almost deem fabulous, were unable to 
baffle, or extricate themselves from the effects of. 
In fine, the conception was great, the execution no- 
ble, and the event glorious. 

In the volume of the Naval Chronicle, which we 
have before quoted, are inserted several extracts 
from letters written by his lordship ; they convey 
too forcible a trait of his character, to w^arrant their 
omission. 

« Irresistible, off Lagos Bay, March 1 6, 1 797. 

«' My dear Sir, 

« Your letter of November 30th, by the Aurora, I only re- 
ceived tlie beginning of this month. 

«« I am here looking out for the Viceroy of Mexico, with three 
sail of the line, and hope to meet him. Two first-rates and a 
seventy four are with him ; but the larger the ships the better the 

mark. 

« The Spanish fleet is in Cadiz ; the officers hooted and pelted 
by the mobility. Their first report was, that we had lost five ; 
the action happening in a i^oggj day, when the fog cleared up 
they only saw fifteen sail of the Hne, therefore concluded at least 
five of ours were sunk m the action. My usual good fortune 
attended me, which 1 know will give you, amongst my other 
friends, satisfaction. Believe me, 

" Your most faithful humble servant, 

" Horatio Nelson." 
"'Captain, off Cadiz, April 10, 1797. 
« My dear Sir, 

« Many thanks for your most kind congratulations on our late 
success; but I hope soon the good people of England will have 



LORD NELSON. ^^ 

It has been frequently remarked that epistolary 
correspondence, particularly that which is of a pri- 
vate nature, is the best criterion by which we can 
judge of the undisguised sentiments of a man, and the 
most certain index of the natural bent of his mind. 
To the preceding letters, a myriad equally interest- 
ing, might be added, provided any additional proof 
of the spirit and genuine habits of thinking posses- 
sed by the noble writer were wanting. They are in- 
serted without the slightest alteration ; those parts 

something else to talk about— some more recent victories ; for if 
our ships are but carried close enough by the officers, 1 will an- 
swer for a British fleet being always successful, 

« The Spaniards threaten us they will come out and take their 
revenge : the sooner the better : but I will not believe it till I 
see it ; and if they do, what Avill the mines of Mexico and Peru 
signify, compared with the honour I doubt not we shall gain by 
fighting any angry Don. They ivill have thirty sail of the line ; ive 
twenty, or fwenty-two ; but I fear we shall have a peace befor? 
they are ready to come out. 

" Believe me, dear sir, 

" Your much obliged 

" Horatio Nelson.'* 

Theseus, June 1st, 1797. 
" My dear Sir, 

*« We are off Cadiz, with a greater inferiority than before. I 
am barely out of shot of a Spanish rear-admiral. We have 
every day flags of truce. The Dons hope for peace, but must 
soon fight us if the war goes on. I wish it all over, for I cannot 
fag much longer. 

" Believe me, my dear sir, 

" your obliged and faithful friend, 

" Horatio Nelson. 
" P. S. Samuel Hood is gone \ hope to get riches— sure to 
get honour." 



52 MEMOIRS OF 

only being omitted which, for different reasons, prin- 
cipally because they relate to private concerns, would 
be consequently uninteresting to the public. 

Sir Horatio having been promoted, very soon after 
' the brilliant transactions last mentioned, to the rank 
of rear-admiral of the blue, was dispatched in the 
month of April, 1797, to bring off the garrison of 
Porto Ferrajo, and on his return to the fleet, from that 
service, having shifted his flag from the Captain to 
the Theseus, on the 27th of May, he was appointed 
by the Earl of St. Vincent to command a detachment 
of the fleet which was employed in the immediate 
blockade of Cadiz harbour. This was a service 
which required the most consummate ability, added 
to the highest personal intrepidity ; nor is it possible, 
perhaps, without meaning to detract in the smallest 
instance from the character of other men, to have 
found any person more strongly endowed with both 
these qualities. 

For the purpose of confining the enemy to their 
port as closely as possible, it was a practice to send 
every night from each ship, one or two boats manned 
and armed, into the very mouth of the harbour ; these 
v/ere supported by some gun-boats purposely fitted 
for the occasion, which, on their part, depending for 
protection, in case of attack, from the interior line of 
ships which were posted under the orders of Sir Ho- 
ratio, the system of blockade became complete, and 
the impediment raised against the clandestine escape 
of any vessel, might be announced impenetrable. 

In order to cause a strict attention throughout all 
the inferior branches of the service, the rear-admiral 



LORD NELSON. S3 

was accustomed to row through the boats, after the}?- 
had been posted for the night. Thus were both 
officers, as well as the men, kept constantly alert, and 
in immediate readiness to repel any sudden attack 
that might be made on them, from the port itself. 
The Spaniards had, on their part, as a necessary de- 
fensive precaution, equipped a number of gun-boats 
and large launches, in which they also paraded and 
rowed guard, for the purpose of preventing the 
blockades from making so near an approach, as they 
otherwise perhaps might have attempted, even to 
such an extent, as might have endangered the safety 
of the Spanish fleet itself. The consequence of these 
mutual preparations was, that a variety of immaterial 
skirmishes took place between the two flotillas, all 
which might most probably, even at this time, have 
been little remembered, had it not been for an en- 
counter, in which both the Spanish commander of the 
gun-boats, Don Miguel Tyrason, and Sir Horatio, 
were personally engaged. The former being in a 
galley, which rowed with twenty-six oars, and man- 
ned with a chosen crew proportionably numerous, 
for it consisted of thirty men, including officers, had 
the fortune to encounter the latter, who was in his 
own barge, with no more than its usual complement 
of ten men, and the cocswain ; Captain Free mantle 
accompanying Sir Horatio as a volunteer. His own 
inherent courage appeared to have even exceeded his 
former display of greatness ; and the event of which 
we are treating, rises as another proof how absolutely 
necessary it is for a naval commander, to possess the 
most exalted personal prowess, as well as the most 



54 MEMOIRS OF 

consummate abilities of the mind. The Spaniard, 
confiding in his superior numbers, shrunk not from 
the contest ; and the crews of both vessels, headed by 
their respective commanders, fought for a considera- 
ble time hand to hand. John Sykes, his coxswain, 
%vhom the rear-admiral so gratefully and affectionate- 
ly distinguished in his short account of the action of 
tlie 14th of February, was wounded in the act of de- 
fending his person ; and is reported to have actually 
preserved his truly valuable life in t'^vo different in- 
stances, by parrying several furious strokes that were 
aimed at him, and mortally wounding the assailants. 
Thus w'as the person of Sir Horatio, though repeat- 
edly in the most imminent danger, preserved under 
Providence by his own gallantry, aided by that of the 
brave and generous fellows whom he commanded : 
the conquest of the enemy was at length effected, and 
the proud superiority of Englishmen, was never per- 
haps displayed in more glowing colours. The Spa- 
niards fought with a fury bordering almost on despe- 
ration ; nor did resistance cease, until eighteen of 
them were killed, and all that remained, including the 
Spanish commander himself, severely wounded.- — 
The eulogium bestowed on his conduct on this occa- 
sion by the Earl St. Vincent, his commander in chief, 
was simple and appropriate. "The rear-admiral," 
says his lordship, " who is always present in the most 
arduous enterprizes, with the assistance of some 
other barges, boarded and carried two of the enemy's 
gunboats, and a large launch belonging to one of 
their ships of war, with the commandant of the flotilla. 
Rear- Achn'u-al Nelson'' s actions speak for tliemsehes ; 
any praise of mine 'Vjouldfall i^ery short of his merit.^[ 



LORD NELSON. 55 

The encounter last mentioned took place on the 3d 
of July, and in two nights afterwards, a repetition of 
the attack was made in a most tremendous form, un- 
der the direction of Sir Horatio, on the city of Cadiz 
itself, and the shipping in the harbour. The bomb- 
vessels ranged under his direction took their proper 
stations, and began their truly terrific warfare. The 
town itself, together with the shipping, received con- 
siderable damage ; and, as is customary in all attacks 
of that desultory^ though dreadful nature, the vessels 
having expended their allotted portion of shells, re- 
tired with the consolation of having materially an- 
noyed the warlike preparations of the enemy, with- 
out having themselves sustained either injury, or in- 
convenience. 

In a few days after these skirmishes, which derived 
the most deserved celebrity from the circumstances 
which attended them, Sir Horatio was detached with 
three ships of the line, the Theseus, the Culloden, 
and the Zealous ; the Leander.of fifty guns, with the 
Terpsichore, the Emerald, the Seahorse frigate, and 
the Fox cutter, having on board what was consider- 
ed as a sullicient body of troops for the purpose, to 
make an attack on the town of Santa Cruz, the capi- 
tal of the isle of Teneriffe. The most prudent, and 
at the same time the most spirited measures were 
immediately adopted with regard to the attack ; the 
boats of the squadron were manned, and the troops 
put on shore. Notwithstanding the darkness of the 
night, and the considerable swell even on the shore, 
the landing was affected in good order ; so that if abil- 
ity joined to gallantry could have commanded success, 



^6 MEMOIRS OF 

it would certainly have attended, in its fullest extent, 
this enterprize. It proved, however, to have been 
undertaken in consequence of a very erroneous rep- 
resentation of the force in which the enemy were ; 
and was rendered abortive merely by the great dis- 
parity in point of numbers, which existed between 
the assailants and the defenders. Thus circumstan- 
ced, the British troops, after having been for the space 
of seven hours in possession of the town of Santa 
Cruz, finding it impossible to make themselves mas- 
ters of the citadel, began to retreat. The Spaniards, 
rejoiced at being freed from invaders, whose courage, 
inferior as they were in numbers to themselves, ap- 
peared dreadful, and were glad to consent they should 
retire unmolested rather than drive them to despair.* 

* In that excellent publication, the Naval Chronicle, to which 
we have before alluded, and to which we find ourselves infinitely 
indebted for many interesting particulars, the annexed are given, 
in the account of this attack, and its consequences. The rear-ad- 
miral, on his arrival before the town, lost no time in directing a 
thousand men, including marines, to be prepared for landing from 
the ships, under the direction of the brave Captain Troubridge, 
since created, for his distinguished services, a baronet of his Ma- 
jesty's ship the Culloden, and Captains Hood, Thomson, Free- 
mantle, Bowen, and Walker, who very handsomely volunteered 
their services. The boats of the squadron were accordingly man- 
ned, and the landing was effected in the course of a dark night. 
The party were in full possession of the town of Santa Cruz for 
about seven hours. Finding it impracticable to storm the citadel, 
they prepared for their retreat ; which the Spaniards allowed them 
to do unmolested, agreeable to the stipulations made with Gap- 
tain Troubridge. Althougli this enterprize did not succeed, his 
Majesty's arms acquired by the attempt a great degree of lustre ; 
and, as the rear-admiral himself handsomely expresses I': in his 



LORD NELSON. 57 

Thus ended an expedition, which might be deemed 
a fatal one to Britain, having cost her the lives of 
nearly two hundred brave officers and seamen, killed 
or drowned, many grievously wounded. Among the 
latter was the rear-admiral himself, v/hohad the mis- 
fortune to lose his right arm by a cannon shot. He 

letter to Earl St. Vincent, " more daring intrepidity never was 
shewn than by the captains, officers, and men he had the honour 
to command." Sir Horatio Nelson in this attack lost his right 
arm by a cannon shot; the same night it was amputated on board 
tlie Theseus, when he immediately began his official letter, and 
finished it by eleven. No less than two hundred and forty-six 
gallant officers, marines, and seamen were killed, wounded, and 
drowned. 

The life of Sir Horatio Nelson was providentially saved by 
Lieutenant Nesbit, his son-in-law, on this disastrous night. The 
admiral received his wound soon after the detachment had land- 
ed; and while they were pressing on with the usual ardour of 
British seamen, the shock caused him to fall to the ground, where 
for some minutes he was left to himself, until Mr. Nesbit, mis- 
sing him, had the presence of mind to return ; when, after some 
search in the dark, he at length found his brave father-in-law 
weltering in his blood on the ground, with his arm shattered, 
and himself apparently lifeless. Lieutenant Nesbit having im- 
mediately applied his neck handkerchief as a tournequet to the 
admiral's arm, carried him on his back to the beach, where with 
the assistance of some sailors, he conveyed him into one of the 
boats, and put off to the Theseus, under a tremendous, though 
ill-directed fire from the enemy's battery. The next day after 
the rear-admiral had lost his arm, he wrote to Lady Nelson, 
and in narrating the foregoing transaction, says, " I know it will 
add much to your pleasure, in finding that your son Josiah, un- 
der God's providence, was instrumental in saving my life." 

It was the 1 3th of December before the surgeons, who attend- 
ed him, pronounced him fit for service. On Sir Horatio Nelson's 
first appearance at court, his sovereign received him in the 

9 



58 MEMOIRS OF 

was carried on board the Theseus, where amputation 
was immediately performed. In the very great hurry 
and confusion, which unavoidably prevailed at the 
time of the operation, some mistake was made in tak- 
ing up one of the arteries, in consequence of which 
the admiral suffered the most excruciating torture for 
several months. He returned to England in a frigate, 
for the necessary recovery of his health, immediately 
after the failure of this expedition, and was, as a na- 
tural consequence, received by all ranks of people 
with the most consoling regard and attention. In 
the month of October, a pension of one thousand 
pounds a year was granted him, as a recompence for 
the serious injury he had so lately experienced ; but, 
as has been elsewhere justly remarked, it M^as consi- 
dered but a trifling remuneration for a life passed in 
one almost uninterrupted scene of danger, hardship, 
enterprise, and service.* 

The moment his health was so far restored as to 
render him capable of undertaking a command, he 
was ordered to re-hoist his flag, and proceed again to 

most gracious and tender manner; and when, with deep sensibil- 
ity of condolence, the king expressed his sorrow at the loss the 
noble admiral had sustained, and his impaired state of health, 
which might deprive the country of his future services, Sir Ho- 
ratio replied with dignified emphasis, " May it please your ma- 
jesty, I can never think that a loss which the performance of my 
duly has occasioned ; and so long as I have a foot to stand on I 
will combat for my king and country." 

* It being the customary etiquette, that, before the issue of the 
jrrant conferring the pension, the person on whom it is intended 
to be bestowed, shall present a memorial to the sovereign, stating 
the grounds on which such pension is applied for ; the following 



LORD NELSON. 59 

the Mediterranean. This he did on the 19th of De- 
cember, on board the Vanguard. Some weeks ne- 
cessarily elapsed before that ship was properly equip- 
ped for the voyage ; and the subsequent delays, oc- 
casioned by contrary winds, and the convoy which 
he had under his charge, caused it to be the 29th of 
April, before he was able to join the Earl St. Vin- 
cent, the commander in chief off Cadiz. On the 
very day ensuing, he was detached with three ships 
of the line, two frigates, and a sloop of war, to watch 
the motions of a verv formidable French armament, 
in the equipment of which the greatest exertions had 

was given in by Sir Horatio, and is, with the greatest propriety, 
inserted here, as giving a brief account of the different services in 
which he had been engaged, previous to that time. 
To the King's Most Excellent Majesty. 
The Memorial of Sir Horatio Nelson* K. B. and a Rear-Ad- 
miral in your Majesty's Fleet. 

That, during the present war, your memorialist has been in 
four actions with the fleets of the enemy, viz. on the 13th and 
14th of March, 1795 ; on the 13th of July, 1795, and on the Hth 
of February, 1 797 ; in three actions in boats, employed in cut- 
ting out of harbours, in destroying vessels, and in taking three 
towns. Your meniorialist has also served on shore, witli the ar- 
my, four months, and commanded the batteries at the sieges of 
Bastia and Calvi : That during the war he has assisted at the 
capture of seven sail of the line, six frigates, four corvettes, and 
eleven privateers of different sizes, and taken and destroyed near 
fifty sail of merchant vessels ; and your memorialist has actual- 
ly been engaged against tlie enemy upwards of one hundred and 
iiuenfy times, in which service your memorialist has lost his right 
eye and arm, and been severely wounded and bruised in his 
body ; all of which services your memorialist submits to your 
majesty's most gracious consideration. 

Qct. 1797. (Signed) Nelsok, 



60 MEMOIRS OF 

been made, as the last and mere gasping hopes of a 

desperate cause. 

It has been frequently urged, that the British na- 
tion owes the highest obligation to the noble Earl, on 
the rriere account of appointing his lordship to this 
command. The flictno one will venture to dispute; 
but the generality of people do not seem perfectly 
aware of the extent of that honour, which they owe 
him on the occasion in question. Grieving for the 
depravity of human nature, we cannot but lament 
that gratitude is among the least prevalent of human 
affections. His lordship convinced the world the 
lofty sentiments of his mind were superior to its base- 
ness and degeneracy. His dut}^ as commander in 
chief, peremptorily required him to make choice, on 
every exigency of service, of those men whom he 
thought most fit to execute it. The rigid rules of 
the service opposed, however, such a choice, and 
to no other cause can we impute his deviation from 
those rules, save that of gratitude : gratitude for 
having been the humble means of gaining a victory, 
on account of which his lordship wore the laurels. 

The annals of history furnish no example equally 
grand in its detail, and its conclusion. If we should 
not incur in these enlightened days the charge of su- 
perstition on the occasion, we should say, on review- 
ing the detail of his voyage, that the noble admiral 
appeared commissioned by some superior agency, to 
effect the destruction of an armament which had 
threatened the most ruinous consequences to his 
country. The cause of our admiration we must con- 
fess is not new ; we know not which most to admire, 



LORD NELSON. 61 

the ability of his mind, or the gallantry of his per- 
sonal behaviour. Facts speak for themselves, and 
the subjoined narrative of the leading transactions of 
the voyage, carefully drawn up by a very eminent 
literary character, from the minutes of an officer who 
held a very high and pre-eminent station in the 
squadron, may, notwithstanding its having been al- 
ready presented to the public view, very properly 
supply the place of any garbled detail that could be 
formed on the occasion. 

The disappointment and difficulties his lordship 
had to encounter, previous to his obtaining authen- 
tic information, that the fleet of the enemy had shap- 
ed its course towards Egypt, are thus related. 

" Sir Horatio Nelson had been detached by Earl St. 
Vincent, into the Mediterranean, with the Vanguard 
of seventy-four guns, the rear-admiral's flag-ship, 
the Orion and Alexander, of seventy-four guns each, 
the Emerald and Terpsichore frigates, and la Bonne 
Citoyenne sloop of war. The squadron sailed from 
Gibraltar on the 9th of May, but experienced nothing 
material till the 22d ; when, being in the gulf of Ly- 
ons, at two A. M. a most violent squall of wind took 
the Vanguard, which carried away her top-masts, 
and at last her fore-mast. The other ships experi- 
enced the fury of the gale, but not in the same de- 
gree as the Vanguard, a greater proportion of the 
storm having fallen on that ship. The three line of 
battle ships lost sight of the frigates on the same day, 
and at the moment of the misfortune which befel 
the Vanguard, the British squadron was not many 
leagues distant from the French fleet, under Buona» 



62 MEMOIRS OF 

parte, ^\^ich had on that very day set sail from Tou- 
lon. 

" The squadron bore up for Sardinia, the Alexan- 
der taking the Vanguard in tow, and the Orion look- 
ing out a- head to endeavour to get a pilot, for the 
purpose of gaining St. Pierre's road. On the 24th 
they reached that anchorage ; m here they were in 
hopes of meeting with a friendly reception, which 
their distress seemed to demand from a neutral pow- 
er : the governor of St. Pierre, however, had orders 
from the French not to admit any British ship ; but 
their utmost hostility could not prevent the admiral 
from anchoring in the road. The resources which 
British seamen always have among themselves, avail- 
ed them much upon this occasion. Captain Berry, 
with the very able assistance he received from Sir 
James Saumarez and Captain Ball, was enabled to 
equip the Vanguard ^vith a jur}' foremast, jury main 
and mizzen topmasts, and to fish the bowsprit, 
which was sprung in many places, and on the fourth 
day from their anchoring in St. Pierre's road, they 
again put to sea, with top- gallant yards across. It 
is, however, proper to observe, that though the gov- 
ernor of St. Pierre, in consequence of peremptory 
orders from the French, denied the squadron a pub- 
lic reception, yet he privately acted in a friendly 
manner, giving it in an underhand way every assist- 
ance in his power. 

" The admiral, eager to execute the orders which 
he had received, did not think of sailing to Naples 
or any other port, where he could have received the 
most open and friendly assistance in getting the ship 



LORD NELSON. 63 

properly refitted, "vvhich her condition evidently re- 
quired, but immediately steered for his appointed 
rendezvous, nor did he ever express the smallest in- 
tention of shifting his flag to either of the other ships 
which to many officers the peculiar circumstance of 
his own might have seemed to have rendered desir- 
able. The admiral, and officers of the Vanguard, 
indeed, had the happiness to find, that the ship sailed 
and worked as well as the other ships, notwithstand- 
ing her apparent crippled condition. The squadron 
reached the rendezvous on the 4th of June, and on 
the following day was joined by La Mutine, Cap- 
tain Hardy, who was charged v.ith orders to the ad- 
miral, and who brought the highly acceptable intel- 
ligence, that Captain Troubridge had been detached 
with ten sail of the line, and a fifty-gun ship, to rein- 
force him. The knowledge of this, diff'used univer- 
sal joy throughout the little squadron, and the admi- 
ral observed to Captain Berry, that he should then 
be a match for any hostile fleet in the Mediterranean, 
and his only desire would be to encounter one. 

" On the 6th of June the squadron was spread, 
anxiously looking out for the expected reinforcement. 
By a vessel spoke \\ ith that day, they were informed, 
that several sail then in sight were Spanish ships, 
richly laden : but prize-money was not the object of 
the admiral ; all selfish consideration was absorbed 
in his great mind, by that of the honour and inter- 
ests of his country, and his attention and anxiety 
were solely engrossed by his desire to meet his pro- 
mised reinforcement, that he might pursue the ene- 
my, of the sailing of whom from Toulon he hadcer- 



64r MEMOIRS OP 

tain intelligence. The Alexander, being on the 
look-out, stopped one of these ships ; but finding she 
had on board eighty or ninety priests, driven by the 
French persecutions and cruelties from Rome, he 
thought it would be an act of humanity to permit the 
ship to pursue her voyage ; and he accordingly re- 
leased her, and rejoined the admiral, bringing with 
him a few volunteers from the Spanish vessel, chiefly 
Genoese, who were desirous of the honour of serv- 
ing in the British fleet ; expressing at the same time 
their detestation and resentment at the ill usage which 
they had experienced from the French. 

** On the 8 th noon they had the happiness to dis- 
cover from the mast-head ten sail, and it was not long 
before they were recognized to be British ships of 
war standing upon a wind in close line of battle, 
with all sails set. Private signals were exchanged ; 
and before sun-set the so much wished for junction 
was formed — an event that was much facilitated by 
the great professional ability, judgment, and zeal of 
Captain Troubridge. The admiral received no in. 
structions what course he M^as now to steer, nor any 
certain information respecting the destination of the 
enemy's fleet : he was left therefore entirely to his 
own judgment. He had the happiness however to 
find that to the captains of his squadron he had no 
necessity to give directions for being in constant 
readiness for battle. On this point their zeal antici- 
pated his utmost wishes ; for the decks of all the 
ships were perfectly clear night and day, and every 
man was ready to start to his post at a moment's no- 
tice. It was a great satisfaction to him likewise to 



LORD NELSdN. 65 

perceive that the men of all the ships were daily- 
exercised at the great guns and small arms, and that 
every thing was in the best state of preparation for 
actual service. The admiral knew that the enemy 
had sailed with a N. W. wind, which naturally led 
him to conclude that their course was up the Medi- 
terranean. He sent the La Mutine to Civita Vec- 
chia, and along the Roman coast, to gain intelligence, 
and steered with the fleet for Corsica, which he 
reached on the 12th of June. Scv^eral vessels had 
been spoken with on their passage thither ; but no 
intelligence whatever had been obtained from them. 
He continued his course on the loth between Corsi- 
ca and Elba, and between Planosa and Elba, through 
the latter of which passages large ships, or fleets had 
not been accustomed to pass. They made the Roman 
coast, and were rejoined by the La Mutine, without 
gaining any intelligence, notwithstanding the active 
exertions of Captain Hardy. The admiral now de- 
termined to steer towards Naples, in the hope of 
some satisfactory information. It had been reported 
that the plundering of Algiers was the object of the 
French armament ; but this account was too va^-ue 
to warrant the admiral in implicitly adopting it. 
They saw mount Vesuvius on the 16di, and de- 
tached Captain Troubridge in the La Mutine to ob- 
tain what information he could from Sir William 
Hamilton. He returned with a report only, that the 
enemy were gone towards Malta. The admiral now 
lamented that even a day had been lost by visiting 
the Bay of Naples, and determined by the shortest 
cut to make the Faro di Messina, which the fleet pas- 
10 



66 MEMOIRS OF 

sed through on the 20th with a fair wind. The joy 
with which the Sicihans hailed our squadron, whea 
it was discovered by them to be British, gave the 
most sincere satisfaction to every one on board of it. 
A vast number of boats came off, and rowed round 
it with the loudest congratulations, and the sincerest 
exultation, as they had been apprehensive that the 
French fleet was destined to act against them after 
the capture of Malta, Here intelligence was gained 
from the British Consul, that Malta had actually sur- 
rendered. The admiral had now hopes of being 
able to attack the enemy's fleet at Goza, where it 
was reported they were anchored, and he immediate- 
ly formed a plan for that purpose, 

" The fleetnow steered with a press of sail for Mal- 
ta, with a fresh breeze at N. W. On the 22d of June 
the La Mutine, at day-break in the morning, spoke 
a Genoese brig from Malta, which gave intelligence 
that tlie French had sailed from thence on the 18th, 
with a fresh gale at N. W. The admiral was not 
long in determining what course he should take, and 
made the signal to bear up, and steer to the S. E. 
with all possible sail. At this time they had no cer- 
tain means of ascertaining that the enemy were not 
bound up the Adriatic. From the day they bore 
up, till the 29th of June, only three vessels were 
spoken with, two of which had come from Alexan- 
dria, and had not seen any thing of the enemy's fleet; 
the other had come from the Archipelago, and had 
likewise seen nothing of them. This day the Pha- 
ros tower of Alexandria was seen, and the fleet con- 
tinued wearing the land with a press of sail, till the 



LORD NELSON. gj, 

whole of it had a distinct view of both harbours, and 
to the general surprise and disappointment of all, not 
a French ship was to be seen in either. The La 
Mutine communicated with the governor of Alex- 
andria who was as much surprised at seeing a British 
squadron there, as he was at the intelligence that the 
French fleet was probably on its passage thither. 

" It now became the subject of deep and anxious 
deliberation with the admiral, what could possibly 
have been the course of the enemy, and what their 
ultimate destination. His anxious and active mind, 
however, would not permit him to rest a moment in 
the same place ; he therefore shaped his course to 
the northward for the coast of Caramania, in order 
to reach as quickly as possible some quarter where 
information could most probably be obtained, as 
well as to supply his ships with water, of which they 
began to run short. On the 4th of July he made 
that coast, steering along the south side of Candia, 
and carrying a press of sail both night and day with 
a contrary wind, he came on the 18th in sight of the 
island of Sicily, and determined to enter the port of 
Syracuse. With this harbour no person in the fleet 
was acquainted ; but by the skill and judgment of 
the officers, every ship got safely in, and immediately 
proceeded to get in water and other necessaries, with 
all possible expedition. This was the first opportu- 
nity that the Vanguard had of receiving water on 
board from the 9th of May ; so that not only the 
stock of that ship, but of several others of the squad- 
ron, was very nearly exhausted. Although thers 
was no proper or regular water-place, yet the great 



68 MEMOIRS OF 

exertions of the officers and men enabled them to 
complete this necessary service in five days ; and on 
the 25th, the whole squadron were in a condition to 
put to sea, which they accordingly did with the 
greatest promptitude. 

*' While at Syracuse, they received several vague 
accounts that the enemy's fleet had not been seen in 
the Archipelago, nor the Adriatic, neither had they 
gone down the Mediterranean. The conclusion then 
seemed to be, that the coast of Egypt was still the 
object of their destination ; therefore, neither the 
former disappointments, nor the many hardships 
they had endured from the heat of the climate, though 
still about to follow ^n uncertain pursuit, could deter 
the admiral from steering to that point Vv^herc there 
was the smallest prospect of finding the enemy. 
Now that it is ascertained by events, that Alexan- 
dria was the object of the enemy, it may appear 
strange that they should have been missed by the 
English squadron, both in its passage thither, and 
on its return to Syracuse; but it appears that the 
French steered a direct course for Candia, by which 
they made an angular passage towards Alexandria, 
whilst the British admiral steered a direct course for 
the latter place, v.ithout making the former at all, by 
which the distance was of course very considerably 
shortened. The smallness of his squadron made it 
necessary to sail in close order, and therefore the 
space which it covered was very limited ; and as the 
admiral hud no frigates that he could have detached 
•upon the look out, added to the haze of the atmos- 
phere in that climate, the chance of descrying the 



LORD NELSON. C9 

enemy was very much circumscribed. The distance 
likewise between Candia and the Barbary coast, 
about thirty-five leagues, leaves very sufficient space 
for more than two of the largest fleets to pass without 
mutual observation, particularly under the circum- 
stances just described. On the return of the squad- 
ron to Syracuse, the circumstance of its having steer- 
ed up to the northward, while the enemy kept a 
southern course for Alexandria, makes it obvious that 
the chance of the admiral's falling in with them was 
still less than before. It has been already observed 
that on the 25th of July the English squadron left 
Syracuse, still without any positive information re- 
specting the enemy ; but it occurred to the admiral 
that some authentic intelligence might be obtained in 
the Morea. He steered therefore for that coast, and 
made the gulph of Coron on the 28lh. Captain 
Troubridge was again employed on the important 
service of obtaining intelligence, and was dispatched 
in the Culloden into Coron, off which place, by the 
great exertions of that able officer, the fleet was not 
detained above three hours. He returned with the 
information from the Turkish governor, that the 
enemy had been seen steering to the south east, from 
Candia about four weeks before. Captain Trou- 
bridge had also the satisfaction of observing, during 
his very hurried visit at Coron, that the inhabitants 
there entertained the most serious apprehensions 
from the French armament, and the most perfect de- 
testation of that people. 

" Upon the information obtained by Captain 
Troubridge, the admiral determined again to visit 



TO MEMOIRS OF 

Alexandria, and carried all sail, steering for that 
place which he had the pleasure to descry on the 
1st of August, at noon ; but not as before, it now 
appearing full of vessels of various kinds, and he had 
soon the satisfaction of perceiving the French flag 
flying on board some of the ships. The utmost joy 
seemed to raiimate every breast on board the squad- 
ron, at sight of the enemy ; and the pleasure which 
the admiral himself felt, was, perhaps, more height- 
ened than that of any other man, as he had now a 
certainty by which he could regulate his future ope- 
rations. 

" The admiral had, and it appeared most justly, 
the highest opinion of, and placed the firmest reli- 
ance on, the valour and conduct of every captain in 
his squadron. It was his practice during the whole 
of his cruise, whenever the weather and circumstan- 
ces would permit, to have his captains on board the 
Vanguard, where he would fully develope to them 
his own ideas of the different, and best modes of at- 
tack, and such plans as he proposed to execute upon 
falling in with the enemy, whatever their position, 
or situation might be, by night, or by day. There 
was no possible position in which they could be found, 
that he did not take into his calculation, and for the 
most advantageous attack of which he had not di- 
gested and arranged the best possible disposition of 
the force which he commanded ; with the masterly 
ideas of their admiral, therefore, on the subject of 
naval tactics, every one of the captains of his squad- 
ron was most thoroughly acquainted ; and upon sur- 
veying the situation of the enemy, they could ascer- 



tORD NELSON". fi 

•tain with precision, what were the ideas and inten- 
tion of their commander, without the aid of any fur- 
ther instructions : by which means signals became 
almost unnecessary, much time was saved, and tlie 
attention of every captain, could almost undistract- 
edly be paid to the conduct of his own particular 
ship, a cireumstance from which, upon this occa- 
sion, the advantages to the general service were al- 
most incalculable.; It cannot here be thought irrele- 
vant, to give some idea of what were the plans which 
Admiral Nelson had formed, and which he explain- 
ed to his captains with such perspicuit}^ as to render 
his ideas completely their own. To the naval ser- 
vice, at least, they must prove not only interesting 
but usefuL 

*' Had he fallen in. with the French fleet at sea, 
that he might make the best impression upon any 
part of it that should appear the most vulnerable, or 
the most eligible for the attack, he divided his force 
into three sub-squadrons, namely, 

Vanguard Orion Culloden 

Monitaur Goliah Theseus 

Leander Majestic Alexander 

Audacious Eellerophon. Swiftsure. 
Defence 
Zealous. 

** Two of these sub-squadrons were to attack the 
ships of war, while the third was to pursue the trans- 
ports, and to sink and destroy as many as it could. 

" The destination of the French armament was 
involved in doubt and uncertainty; but it forcibly 



r3 MEMOIRS OP 

struclc the admiral, that, as it was commanded b^* 
the man whom the French had dignified with the 
title of conqueror of Italy, and as he had with him 
a very large body of troops, an expedition had been 
planned, which the land force might execute without 
the aid of their fleet, should the transports be per- 
mitted to make their escape, and reach in safety their 
place of rendezvous ; it therefore became a material 
consideration with the admiral, so to arrange his 
force, as at once to engage the whole attention of 
their ships of war, and at the same time to annoy 
and injure their convoy. It will be fully admitted 
from the subsequent information which has been re- 
ceived upon the subject, that the ideas of the admi- 
ral, upon this occasion, were perfectly just, and that 
the plan which he had arranged was the most likely 
to frustrate the designs of the enemy. It is almost 
unnecessary to explain his projected mode of attack 
at anchor, as that was minutely and precisely exe- 
cuted in the action Which we now come to describe. 
These plans, however, were formed two months be- 
fore an opportunity presented itself of executing any 
of them, and the advantage now was, that they were 
familiar to the understanding of every captain in the 
fleet. 

" It has been already mentioned that the Pharos 
of Alexandria was seen at noon, on the first of 
August. The Alexander and Swiftsure had been 
detached a-head, on the preceding evening, to re- 
connoitre the ports of Alexandria, while the main 
body of the squadron kept in the ofiing. The ene- 



LORD NELSON. 73 

tny^s fleet was first discovered by the Zealous, Cap- 
tain Hood, who immediately communicated, by 
signal, the number of ships, sixteen, lying at anchor 
in a line of battle, in a bay, upon the larboard-bow 
which was afterwards found to be Aboukir bay. 
The admiral hauled his wind that instant, a move- 
ment which was immediately observed and followed 
by the whole squadron ; and at the same time he re- 
called the Alexander and Swiftsure. The wind was 
at this time N. N. W. and blew what seamen call a 
top-gallant breeze ; It was necessary to take in the 
royals to haul upon a wind. The admiral made the 
signal to prepare for battle, and that it was his in- 
tention to attack the enemy's van and centre as they 
lay at anchor. His idea, in this disposition of his 
force, was, first to secure the victory, and then to 
make the most of it as circumstances might permit. 
A lower cable of each ship was immediately got out 
abaft, and bent forward. He continued carrying sail, 
and standing in for the enemy's fleet in a close line 
of battle. As all the officers of the squadron were 
totally unacquainted with Aboukir bay, each ship 
kept sounding as she stood in. The enemy appeared 
to be moored in a strong and compact line of battle, 
close in with the shore, their line describing an ob- 
tuse angle in its form, flanked by numerous gun- 
boats, four frigates and a battery of guns and mor- 
tars on an island in their van. The situation of the 
enemy seemed to secure to them the most decided 
advantages, as they had nothing to attend to but their 
artillery, in their superior skill in the use of which 
the French so much pride themselves, and to which 

11 



74 MEMOIRS OF 

indeed their splendid series of land victories is In 
general chiefly to be attributed. 

"The position of the enemy presented the most 
formidable obstacles ; but the admiral viewed these 
with the eye of a seaman determined on attack, and it 
instantly struck his eager and penetrating mind, that 
ivhere there was room for an enemy^s ship to swings 
there %vas room for one of ours ta anchor. No further 
signals were necessary than those which had already 
been made. The admiral's designs were as fully 
known to his whole squadron, as was his determina- 
tion to conquer, or perish in the attempt. The Go- 
liah and Zealous had the honour to lead inside, and 
to receive the first fire from the van ships of the ene- 
my, as well as from the batteries and gun-boats with 
W'hich their van was strengthened ; these two ships, 
with the Orion, Audacious, and Theseus, took their 
stations inside the enemy's line, and were immedi- 
ately in close action ; the Vanguard anchored the first 
on the outer side of the enemy, and was opposed with- 
in half pistol-shot to Le Spartiatc, the third in the 
enemy's line. In standing in, the leading ships w^ere 
unavoidably obliged to receive into their bows the 
whole fire of the broadsides of the French line, until 
they could take their respective stations : and it is 
but justice to observe, that the enemy received them 
with great firmness and deliberation, no colours hav- 
ing been hoisted on either side, nor a gun fired, till 
the van ships were within half gun-shot. At this time 
the necessary number of our men were employed 
aloft, unfurling sails, and on deck, in hauling the bra- 
ces, and other necessary duties preparatory to our 



LORD NELSON. 75 

casting anchor. As soon as thus placed, a most an- 
imated fire was opened from the Vanguard, which 
ship covered the approach of those in the rear, which 
were following in a close line. The Minotaur, De- 
fence, Bellerophon, Majestic, Swiftsure and Alex- 
ander came in succession, and passing within hail of 
the Vanguard, took their respective stations opposed 
to the enemy's line. All our ships anchored by the 
stern, by which means the British line became in- 
verted from van to rear. Captain Thompson of the 
Leander of fifty guns, with a degree of judgment 
highly honourable to his professional character, ad- 
vanced towards the enemy's line on the outside, and 
most judiciously dropped his anchor athvrart tiie 
hause of Le Franklin, raking her with great success — 
the shot from the Leander's broadside, which passed 
that ship, all striking the L'Orient, the flag-ship of 
the commander in chief. 

" The action commenced at sun-set, which was at 
thirty-one minutes past six P. M. with an ardour and 
vigour scarcely possible to describe ; at about seven 
o'clock total darkness had come on, but the whole 
hemisphere was, at intervals, illuminated by the fire 
of the hostile fleets. The English ships, when dark- 
ness came on, had all hoisted their distinguished 
lights, by a signal from the admiral. The van ship 
of the enemy, Le Guerrier, was dismasted in less 
than twelve minutes ; and in ten after, the second 
ship, Le Conquerant, and the third Le Spartiate, 
very nearly at the same moment shared the same fate ; 
the L' Aquilon, and Le Souverain Peuple, the fourth 
and fifth ships of the enemy's line, were taken pos= 



76 MEMOIRS OF 

session of by the British at half past eight in the eve- 
ning. Captain Berry, at that hour, sent Lieutenant 
Gal way of the Vanguard, with a party of marines to 
take possession of the Spartiate, and that officer re- 
turned by the boat, the French Captain's sword, 
which Captain Berry immediately delivered to the 
admiral, who was then below in consequence of the 
severe wound which he had received in the head 
during the heat of the attack." 

The very great effusion of blood which instantly 
flowed from the wound, rendered the supposition that 
it might prove mortal more than probable ; and had 
it not been for his Captain, now Sir Edward Berry, 
who stood near, he must, owing to the violence of 
the shock occasioned by the blow, have fallen on the 
deck ; but Captain Berry was fortunate enough to 
save him from that additional disaster, which might 
possibly have been extremely injurious to him, by 
catching him in his arms. He immediately caused 
him to be conveyed to the cock-pit. Nothing could 
exceed the distress and anxiety that appeared depic- 
ted on every countenance, to whom the fatal intelli- 
gence was made known. Though the battle raged 
with the utmost fury, and the shot flew thick all 
around, the tempest of destruction seemed disregard- 
ed, and solicitude, not for their own lives, but for 
that of their gallant leader, seemed alone to occupy 
the minds of the crew. The accident, however, in- 
stead of repressing, seemed rather to excite their 
courage, and influence their minds with redoubled fu- 
ry against the foe : as if animated by one spirit, all 
seemed determined to revenge the fall of their much- 



LORD NELSON. 77 

loved hero. Can the human mind be sensible of a 
greater pleasure than must be experienced by an offi- 
cer, whose invariable conduct has been such, as to 
inspire those whom he has under his command with 
such sentiments, that can rouse them to exertions, 
for his protection, which seem almost above the ca- 
pability of human natiu'e to display ? To obtain the 
love of those whom they command, is a no less essen- 
tial duty of officers than to enforce obedience, and 
those who are happy enough to effect this grand point, 
will always, particularly in the hour of common dan- 
ger, experience the most beneficial effects from it. — 
Kindness and discipline are by no means incompati- 
ble. Such were the sentiments of the gallant Hero 
of the Nile, and such his invariable conduct. But to 
return to the subject more immediately under our 
consideration. No sooner had Sir Horatio been con- 
veyed below, than the surgeon, who at the time was 
employed in his profession with some of the wounded 
seamen, immediately hastened to attend him. The 
firmness of the admiral, who himself believed his end 
approaching, was here most conspicuous ; and could 
any thing be requisite to throw an additional lustre on 
his character his benevolent answer to the surgeon 
would alone be sufficient ; " No," said he, with the 
greatest composure, " I will take my turn with my 
brave fellows. ' ' Supposing himself to be at the last 
extremity, he employed himself in delivering some 
confidential messages to his various friends, and more 
particularly one which he wished to be conveyed to 
Lady Nelson, by the chaplain. 

Nor did he forget what he esteemed his duty ; but 



78 MEMOIRS OF 

as the last beneficial office he should be able to per^ 
form, he appointed Captain Hardy, of the Mutine, to 
be Captain of the Vanguard. He afterwards took a 
most affectionate leave of Captain Louis, who com- 
manded the Minotaur, and who he had expressly sent 
for on board the Vanguard, that he might have the 
satisfaction of personally thanking him for the assist- 
ance he had been the instrument of renderins; the 
Vanguard, in the height of danger. " My dear Lou- 
is," said the admiral, " farewell ! I shall never, if I 
survive, forget the obligation I am under to you. — 
Whatever may become of me, my mind is at peace." 
Such were the sentiments that possessed the soul of 
this great man, when he thought himself hovering 
on the borders of eternity. To perform his duty to 
the last, and thank those from w^hom he thought he 
had received any services, afforded him the greatest 
of consolations. 

The surgeon having, according to the express wish 
of Sir Horatio, paid every necessary attention to the 
wounded objects who had received their wounds pri- 
or to himself, now came forward to examine that of 
the admiral. A solemn silence pervaded the whole 
place, and every eye was fixed, with scrutinizing anx- 
iety, to catch the first looks of the surgeon, after he 
had examined it. But what were the sensations that 
actuated every mind, when he declared that it was 
merely superficial, and of no dangerous consequence ! 
Solemn grief was changed into a paroxysm of joy, and 
the glad tidings flew with rapidity through every part 
of the ship. Nor is it, perhaps, too bold in us to 
affirm, that the certainty of recovery did not give Sir 



LORD NELSON. 79 

Horatio greater pleasure than that which the une- 
quivocal expressions of enthusiastic joy expressed 
b; his companions afforded him. 

To resume the narrative. " At this time it appear- 
ed that victory had already declared in favour of the 
British ; for although the L'Orient, L'Heureux, and 
Tonnant, were not taken possession of, they were 
considered as completely in our power, which plea- 
sing intelligence Captain Berry had likewise the satis- 
faction of communicating in person to the Admiral. 
At ten minutes after nine, a fire was observed on 
board the L'Orient, the French admiral's ship, which 
seemed to proceed from the after part of the cabin, 
and which increased with great rapidity, presently in- 
volving the whole of the after part of the ship in flames. 
This circumstance Captain Berry immediately com- 
municated to the admiral, v.'ho, though suffering se- 
verely from his wound, came upon deck, where the 
first consideration that struck his mind, was concern 
for the danger of so many lives ; to save as many as 
possible of whom, he ordered Captain Berry to make 
every possible exertion. A boat, the only one that 
could swim, was instantly dispatched from the Van- 
guard, and other ships that were in a condition to do 
so immediately followed the example, by which means, 
from the best possible information, the lives of about 
seventy Frenchmen were saved. The light thrown 
by the fire of the L'Orient upon the surrounding ob- 
jects, enabled the admiral to perceive with more cer- 
tainty the situation of the two fleets, the colours of 
both being clearly distinguishable. The cannona- 
ding was partially kept up to leeward of the centre, 



80 MEMOIRS OB" 

till about ten o'clock, when the L'Orient blew up 
with a most tremendous explosion. An awful pause, 
and death- like silence for about three minutes ensu- 
ed, when the wreck of the masts, yards, and other 
materials which had been carried to a vast height, 
fell down into the water, and on board the surround- 
ing ships, A port fire from the L' Orient fell into the 
main royal of the Alexander ; the fire occasioned by 
which was, however, extinguished in about two mi-^ 
nutes, by the active exertions of Captain Ball. After 
This awful scene, the firing re-commenced with the 
ships to the leeward of the centre, till twenty minutes 
past ten, when there was a total cessation of firing for 
about ten minutes, after which it was revived till 
about three in the morning, when it again ceased. — 
After the victory had been secured in the van, such 
British ships as were in a condition to move, had 
gone down upon the fresh ships of the enemy. At five 
miinutes past five in the morning, the two rear ships 
of the enemy, Le Guillaume Tell and Le Genereux, 
were the only ships of the line that had their colours 
flying. At fifty four minutes past five, a French fri- 
gate, L'Artemise, fired a broadside, and struck her 
colours ; but such was the unwarrantable and infa^ 
mous conduct of the French captain, that after having 
thus surrendered, he set fire to his ship and with part 
of his crew made his escape on shore. Another of 
the French frigates, La Serieuse, had been simk by 
the fire from some of our ships ; but as her poop re- 
mained above water, her men were saved upon it, and 
were taken off by our boats in the morning. The 
Bellerophon, whose masts and cables had been en- 



LORD NELSON. 81 

tireiy shot away, could not retain her situation abreast 
of the L'Orient, but had drifted out of the line to the 
lee side of the bay, a little before that ship blew up ; 
the Audacious was in the morning detached to her as- 
sistance. At eleven o'clock, Le GenereuxandGuil- 
laume Tell, with the two frigates. La Justice and La 
Diane, cut their cables and stood out to sea, pursued 
by the Zealous, Captain Hood, who handsomely en- 
deavoured to prevent their escape ; but as there was 
no odier ship in a condition to support the Zealous, 
she was recalled. The v.hole day of the second "was 
employed in securing the French ships that had struck^ 
and which were now all completely in possession of 
the British squadron, the Le Tonnant and Timolcon 
excepted. As these were dismasted, and conse- 
quently could not escape, they were naturally the last 
to be taken possession of. On the morning of the 
third, the Timoleon vv^as set fire to, and the Le Ton- 
nant had cut her cable and drifted on shore ; but that 
active officer. Captain Miller, of the Theseus, soon 
got her OiT again, and secured her in the British line 
The English force engaged consisted of twelve ships 
of seventy- four guns, and theLeander of fifty guns. 
" From the over anxiety and zeal of Captain Trou- 
bridge to get into action^ his ship, the Culloden, in 
standing in for the van of the enemy's line, unfortu- 
nately grounded upon the tail of a shoal running off 
from the island, on which were the mortar and gun- 
batteries of the enemy ; and, notwithstanding all the 
exertions of that able officer and ship's company, she 
could not be got off. This unfortunate circumstance 
was severely felt at the moment by the admiral and 

12 



82 MEMOIRS OF 

all the officers of the squadron, but their feehngs 
were nothing compared to the anxiety and even 
anguish of mind which the captain of the CuUoden 
himself experienced for so many eventful hours. — 
There was but one consolation that could offer itself 
to him in the midst of the distresses of his situation ; 
a feeble one it is true — that his ship served as a bea- 
con for three other ships, namely, the Alexander, 
Theseus, and Leander, which were advancing with 
all possible sail set, close in his rear, and which oth- 
erwise might have experienced a similar misfortune, 
and thus in a greater proportion have weakened our 
force. It vv^as not till the morning of the second, that 
the Culloden could be got off ; and it was found she 
had suffered very considerable damage in her bottom ; 
that her rudder was beat off, and the crew could hard- 
ly keep her afloat with all her pumps going. The re- 
sources of Captain Troubridge's mind availed hini 
much, and were admirably exerted upon this trying 
occasion. In four days he had a new rudder made 
upon his own deck, which was immediately shipped, 
and the Culloden was again in a state for actual ser- 
vice, though still very leaky. The admiral, know- 
ing that the wounded of his own ships had been well 
taken care of, bent his first attention to those of the 
enemy. He established a truce with the command- 
ant of Aboukir, and through him made a communica- 
tion to the commandant of Alexandria, that it was his 
intention to allow all the vv^ounded Frenchmen to be 
taken ashore to proper hospitals, with their own sur- 
geons to attend them : a proposal which was assented 
to by the French, and which was carried into effect 



I>ORD NELSON-. 83 

the following day. The activity and generous consid- 
eration of Captain Troubridge were again exerted at 
this time for the general good. He communicated 
with the shore, and had the address to procure a sup- 
ply of fresh provisions, onions and other necessaries, 
which were served out to the sick and wounded, and 
which proved of essential utility. 

" On the 2d the Arabs and Mamelukes, who dur- 
ing the battle had lined the shores of the bay, saw 
with transport that the victory was decisively on the 
part of the British, an event, in which they participa- 
ted with an exultation almost equal to the victors ; 
and on that, and the two following nights, the whole 
coast and country were illuminated, as far as we could 
see, in celebration of the glorious event. This had a 
great effect upon the minds of the prisoners, as they 
conceived that this illumination was the consequence, 
not entirely of the success of the English fleet, but of 
some signal advantage obtained by the Arabs and 
Mamelukes overBuonaparte. Although it is natural 
to suppose, that the time and attention of the admiral, 
and all the officers of his squadron, were very fully 
employed in repairing the damages sustained by their 
own ships, and in securing those of the enemy, which 
their valour had subdued, yet the mind of that great 
and good man, felt the strongest emotions of the most 
pious gratitude to the Supreme Being for the signal 
success, which, by the Divine favour, had crowned 
his endeavours in the cause of his country, and in con- 
sequence, on the morning of the second, he issued 
the following memorandum to the different captains 
of his squadron. 



84, MEMOIRS OF 

MEMORANDUM. 

Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile, 
2d day of August, 1798. 
*' Almighty God having blessed his majesty's arms with vic^ 
tory, the admiral intends returning public thanksgiving for the 
same at two o'clock this day, and he recommends every ship do- 
ing the same as soon as convenient. 

*' To the respective captains of the squadron. 

*' At two o'clock, accordingly on the day, public 
service was performed on the quarter-deck of the 
Vanguard, by the Rev. Mr. Comyn, the other ships 
following the example of the admiral, though perhaps 
not all at the same time. This solemn act of grati- 
tude to heaven seemed to make a very deep impres- 
sion upon several of the prisoners, both officers and 
men, some of the former of whom remarked, " That 
it was no wonder such order and discipline was pre- 
served in the British navy, when the minds, of the 
men were impressed with such sentiments after a vic- 
tory so great, and at a moment of such seeming con- 
fusion." On the same day the following memoran- 
dum was issued to all the ships, expressive of the ad- 
miral's sentiments of the noble exertions of the dif- 
ferent officers and men of his squadron. 

Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile, 
2d day of August, 1798. 
*' The admiral most heartily congratulates the captains, offi- 
cers, seamen, and marines of the squadron he has the honour to 
command, on the event of the late action, and he desires they 
will accept liis most sincere and cordial thanks for their very gal- 
lant behaviour in this glorious battle. It must strike forcibly 
Gvery British seaman, how superior their conduct is in discipline 
and good order to the riotous behaviour of lawless Frenchmen. 



LORD NELSON. 85 

The squadron may be assured, that the admiral will not fail in 
his dispatches to represent their truly meritorious conduct, in tlie 
Strongest terms to the commander in chief. 

To the captains of the ships of the squadron." 

" The praise expressed in this memorandum 
could not fail to be highly acceptable, and gratifying 
to every individual in the squadron, and the obser- 
vation which it endeavoured to impress on the minds 
of all, by the striking advantages derived from disci- 
pline and good order, was so much the effect of re- 
cent experience, that every heart immediately as- 
sented to its justice. 

*' The benefit of this important truth will not, we 
trust, be confined to any particular branch of the 
English navy ; the sentiment of the hero of the Nile 
must infuse itself into the heart of every British sea- 
man, in whatever quarter of the globe he maybe ex- 
tending the glory and interests of his country, and 
will produce the conviction, that courage alone will 
not lead him to conquest, without the aid and direc- 
tion of exact discipline and order. Let those who 
desire to emulate (as every British seaman must) the 
glory acquired upon this signal occasion, pursue the 
same means, which principally led to its acquisition. 
Let them repose the most perfect reliance in the cou- 
rage, judgment, and skill of their superior officers ; 
and let them aid the designs of these by uniformly 
submissive obedience, and willing subordination ; so 
shall the British navy continue to be the admiration 
of the world, till time shall be no more. 

" Immediately after the action some Maltese, Ge- 
noese, and Spaniards, who had been serving on board 
the French fleet, offered their services to the English 



85 MEMOIRS OF 

admiral, which were accepted ; and they expressed 
the greatest happiness at thus being freed, as they 
themselves said, from the tyranny and cruelty of the 
French. On the fourth day after the action, Captain 
Berry, of the Vanguard, sailed in the Leander of fifty 
guns, with the admiral's dispatches to the comman- 
der in chief. Earl St. Vincent, off Cadiz, containing 
intelligence of the glorious victory which he had ob- 
tained."* 

Such is the plain and modest narrative of the 
greatest event, and the most brilliant triumph that 
had at that time ever occurred in the naval world ; 
and ere we proceed farther, in placing before the 
public eye, even the official account of so interesting 
an epoch, it is incumbent on us to ofter a few remarks 
on that stupendous prodigy of human intellect which 
first suggested the means of achieving a victory, 

* " Sir Horatio Nelson, as rear-admiral of the blue, carried 
tlie blue flag at the mizen ; but from a standing order of Sir 
John Jervis, the commander in chief, the squadron wore the 
white, or St. George's ensign, in the action ; and it is remarka- 
ble, that this occasioned the display of the! cross upon the renown- 
ed and ancient coast of Egypt. 

" A most animated fire was opened from tlie Vanguard, which 
ship covered the approach ef tliose in the rear : in a few minutes, 
every man stationed at the first six guns in the fore part of the 
Vanguard's deck v/ere all down, killed, or wounded ; and one gun 
in particular was repeatedly cleared. Sir Horatio Nelson was so 
entirely resolved to conquer, or to perish in the attempt, that he 
led into action, with six ensigns, or flags, viz. red, white, and blue, 
flying in different parts of the rigging ; he could not even bear 
to reflect on the possibility of his colours being carried away bj 
a random shot from the enemy."— Nav. Chron. Vol. '.h 



LORD NELSON. 87 

^vhich might have been construed by the envious of 
the present day as accidental, or owing to the unfor- 
tunate chance of war, and by the siiperstition of a 
former age, as the effect of an interference miraculous 
and preternatural ; had not the principles on which 
he intended the action should be fought, and which 
tvere strictly carried into execution, been previously 
explained, with the minutest exactness and precision, 
to all the officers under his command by the noble 
admiral himself, who contrived and arranged them. 
Independent of the advantage derived by the nation 
from the defeat of the French at Aboukir, the pride 
of the country felt itself flattered and its utmost ener- 
gies raised in a way that could not fail of being ex- 
ceedingly gratifying and advantageous to it. France 
had, through a series of years, and a succession of 
wars, boasted her pre-eminence in that peculiar mode 
of defence, which she was then called upon to make ; 
she had plumed herself on the skill of her naval artil- 
lerists, and had the presumption to boast her own 
superiority, on all occasions, where such skill was 
particularly required. Here then was an event where 
it became strictly necessary ; seamanship, maritime 
knowledge, and nautical skill, were all out of the 
question ; and British sailors, boasting no other qua- 
lification in the science of gunnery than the honest 
enthusiastic exertion of their own natural spirit and 
manual labour, were called upon to engage the pe- 
dantically scientific subjects of France, who affected 
to despise all practice that was not founded on scho- 
lastic theory, and the most perfect knowledge of the 
doctrine of projectiles. Each ship was to be consi-^ 



SS MEMOIRS OF 

dcrcd as a battery ; and the principles of military at- 
tack seemed, as it were, transferred to a new element 
on this extraordinary occasion. 

Every precaution which the strictest prudence and 
the most deliberate judgment could suggest, had been 
taken to secure the fleet of France from the assaults 
of an enemy, in force inferior to itself; an inferiority 
considerably increased at the very instant of impend- 
ing contest, by the misfortune which befel one of the 
finest ships in the British squadron ; a circumstance 
which, had the minds of the spirited assailants been 
capable of being affected by dismay, would in no 
small degree have depressed their ardour, and damp- 
ed their hopes of success. The effect, however, 
which it produced, was only that of mutual regret ; 
on one side, that so many of their brave companions 
should be deprived of participating in the pleasure of 
effectually humbling the enemies to their country ; 
and on the other, of disappointment at being denied 
the satisfaction of lending their aid in so glorious a 
contest. 

In vain was the position of the enemy rendered in 
idea additionally secure, by the erection of batteries 
intended to protect the flank, and prevent any assailant 
from forcing a passage between the head of the fleet 
and the island of Bequieres, as if, possessed of prophe- 
cy, they had foreseen the intention of their gallant 
antagonists. Their best concerted measures were 
rendered in an instant vain and ineffectual ; and the 
thunder of the British cannon, in a few minutes only, 

* The Cnlloden, Captain Troubrldge, the leading ship, which 
took the ground in going in. 



LORD NELSON. 89 

obtained a complete victory over the pedantic prin- 
ciples of pretended service ; for although the extent 
of the ruin which was to befal the enemy could not 
be at that time strictly ascertained, fifteen minutes 
had scarcely elapsed from the firing of the first British 
cannon, ere success was certain, and it was establish- 
ed as a fact not to be controverted, that nothing but 
the most instantaneous flight could, even at that early 
period of the encounter, have preserved a moiety of 
the French fleet from falling into the hands of the 
British. 

We trust it will not be considered arrogant and 
vain-glorious in this place to make a short digression 
from the present subject ; a digression which we also 
hope may be the better pardoned, as it will enable us 
to examine with what success France herself manages 
an attack of the same nature, against a force scarcely 
equalling by one-third that which assailed it. The 
event we now allude to, is the attack made by the 
French fleet under the orders of the Count d'Estaing, 
on the small squadron commanded by Rear-admiral 
Barrington, in the Grand Cul de Sac, of the island of 
St. Lucia, in the month of December, 1778. 

" It became necessary," says Mr. Barrington, 
*' on the approach of the Count d'Estaing, to secure 
the transports as well as we could in the bay ; and 
the whole night was accordingly employed in warp- 
ing them within the ships of war, and disposing the 
latter in a line across the entrance in the following 
order : the Isis, St. Alban's, Boyne, Nonesuch, Cen- 
turion, Preston, Prince of Wales; the Isis to wind- 
ward, rather inclining into the bay, and the Prince 

13 



90 MEMOIRS OF 

of Wales, being the most powerful ship, the outward- 
most to leeward, with the Venus, Aurora, and Ariad- 
ne, flanking the space between the Isis and the shore, 
to prevent the enemy's forcing a passage that way. 

*' Almost all the transports had fortunately got 
within the line before half past eleven in the morning 
of the 15th, when the Count thought proper to bear 
down, and attack us with ten sail of the line, happily 
without doing us any material injury ; and at four in 
the afternoon he made a second attack upon us, with 
twelve sail of the line, with no other success however 
than killing two men, and wounding seven, on board 
the Prince of Wales, and w^ounding one also on board 
the Ariadne, who is since dead ; but I have reason to 
believe the enemy received considerable damage, as 
the manoevivres betrayed great confusion, and one of 
their ships in particular, which fell to leeward, seemed 
disabled from carrying the necessary sail to get to 
windward again. 

" The next day, the 16th, the count shewed a dis- 
position to attack us a third time, but on the appear- 
ance of a frigate standing for his fleet with several 
signals flying, he plyed to windward ; and in the even- 
ing anchored off Gros Islet, about two leagues from 
us,v/here he still continues, with ten frigates, besides 
his twelve sail of the line." 

The disadvantage in point of numbers was not the 
only one against which Ivlr. Barrington had to con- 
tend ; his measures excellently adapted, as they in- 
deed proved, to his defence, had been necessarily ta- 
ken in haste ; for the speedy arrival of the enemy 
prevented his augmenting those means of protection 



LORD NELSON. gi 

in addition to his own strength, which his prudence, 
and the advice of those he commanded, suggested, 
as it were, on the moment of impending attack. No 
time was allowed for cool and contemplative delibe- 
ration ; no opportunity afforded of repairing negli- 
gence, remedying defect, or improving a position 
seized with avidity, because it v/as thought the best 
that could be taken on the spur of the occasion. The 
fleet of the enemy was commanded by an officer infe- 
rior in reputed gallantry and ability to none in France. 
The object before him was great ; the consequences 
which success might have opened to him, appeared 
little less than as threatening the conquest and subju- 
gation of the greater part of the British colonies in 
that quarter of the world. The capture of Mr, 
Barrington and his ships, would have added proudly 
to his fame as an admiral ; the surrender of General 
Grant and his army, the inevitable result of a naval 
victory, together with the conquest of the most valu- 
able among the possessions of her enemy, would have 
' proved a blow that might have placed France in the 
situation of imperiously and haughtily dictating the 
terms of peace, and almost reduced Britain to the hu- 
miliating condition of accepting it, even under stipu- 
lations that might have been degrading to her national 
dignity. 

With so great an object in view, what success might 
not have been hoped for by the presumptuous assail- 
ants, headed as they were by an officer possessing their 
entire confidence ! The event proved completely in- 
auspicious ; and it would be ignobly trampling on the 
vanquished, to add any comment on a fact so com- 
pletely glorious to the naval character of Britain. 



92 MEMOIRS OF 

Now let us contemplate the companion to this pic- 
ture ; let us not on one hand be subject to the charge 
of flattery to the memory of the honourable admiral, 
who so gallantly extricated himself from a most peril- 
ous situation ; nor on the other, let us be supposed to 
have depreciated, or degraded, by the comparison, 
the character of a noble officer, so deservedly the idol 
ofhis country, and the wonder of the world. We 
cannot form facts for ourselves ; we are under the 
necessity of taking them exactly as they offer ; and if 
one victory surpasses another which preceded it, in 
brilliancy, it were ungrateful to despise the former, 
which we have alluded to, for the sake of the parallel 
and the comparison, because with the change of situ- 
ation and country, it approaches nearer in the circum- | 
stances which attended it, than any other naval con- 1 
test we at present recollect, or that history perhaps will 
furnish us with. 

In the second picture we find our noble and intre- 
pid countryman, invested with the character so ill sus- 
tained by the arrogant and assuming Frenchman. 
We see him armed with inferior powers, disdammg 
even the slightest apprehension of discomfiture, ad- 
vancing to the attack, not only with intrepidity, but 
with a cool confidence of success, against every ob- 
stacle that art, ingenuity, and skill could contrive and 
which had been most studiously exerted by the ex- 
pecting enemy, in the hope of preventing it. Far 
different, as is known to all, was the result. Victory 
herselfwove for him the crown of triumph, and the 
united suffrage of the universe declared that it had 
never been more worthily obtained. 



LORD NELSON. ^3 

We cannot conclude this comment without briefly 
observing, that even the excuse made by France, in 
the frivolous hope of palliating the disgrace of her 
disaster, materially augments the grandeur of the 
British name, and depresses that of herself. " It could 
not have been foreseen," say her apologists, " that 
the English admiral would have adopted the desperate 
resolution of forcing a passage between the shore and 
the line, in which the French fleet was moored, and 
enabled himself in consequence of that manoeuvre, to 
attack the van of his foe with the whole of his force, 
while the rear of the former was incapable of moving 
to its succour or protection : so that each division 
became in succession the victim of superior strength." 
To this, a plain, unargumentative answer will be com- 
pletely sufficient. Had rear-admiral Nelson, pursuing 
only that confined principle of naval tactics, which, 
in attacks of the same nature, had till then been in 
use ; had he edged down, each of his ships singling 
out its proper opponent, in a line stretching from van 
to rear, even in that case success might have crowned 
his gallantry, though his loss might have been ren- 
dered infinitely greater. That he might however, 
if the phrase be allowed us, take Victory herself pri- 
soner, and render her absolutely subservient to his 
desires, he contrived the plan which the greatness of 
his own mind furnished him with, and reduced suc- 
cess almost to an absolute certainty, even before the 
battle commenced. Gallantry is only one qualifica- 
tion in the composition of a great officer ; it is common 
to the generality of mankind ; and it becomes rather 
an insult to the human race, to deny the possession of 



94 MEMOIRS OF 

it by the majority. With grand and extensive abili- 
ties the case is otherwise ; and we regard the display 
of those abilities, when so splendidly exhibited, as an 
attribute something more than human. Such France 
felt ; she sunk under the pressure of them, and the 
only consolation which she could experience in her 
defeat, was that of knowing her conqueror was Sir 
Horatio Nelson.* 

* France herself appears on this occasion to have deviated in 
some measure from her customary practice of attempting to palli- 
ate misfortune by the propagation of falsehood ; nor did she even 
boast, as was usual vi^ith her, of imaginary and partial advantages, 
In the hope of assuaging the feelings of her own mind and those 
of her people. The following account, said, on the best authority, 
to be authentic, and to have been written by a French officer of 
high rank, is more candid than we recollect to have ever seen any, 
composed by a Frenchman; it becomes therefore more interest- 
ing, more singular, more satisfactory, and more pleasing. 

"The 1st of August, 1798, wind W. N. W. light breezes, and 
fair weather, the second division of the fleet sent a party of men 
on shore to dig wells; every ship in the fleet sent twenty-five men 
to protect the v/orkmen from thecontinued attacks of the Bedouins 
and vagabonds of the country. At two P. M. the Heureus 
made a signal for twelve sail W. S. W. which we could easily 
distinguish from the mast-heads to be ships of war. The signal 
was then made for all the boats, workmen, and guards to repair 
on board their ships, which was only obeyed by a small number. 
At three o'clock the admiral, not having any doubt that the ships 
in sight were the enemy, ordered the hammocks to be stowed for 
action, and directed L' Alert and Ruiller brigs of war to reconnoi- 
tre the enemy, which we soon perceived were steering for Bequier 
Bay, under a crowd of canvass, without observing any order of 
sailing. At four o'clock, we saw over the fort of Aboukir two 
ships, apparently waiting to join the squadron ; without doubt 
tliey had been sent to look into the port of Alexandria. We 



LORD NELSON. 95 

To return to simple narrative — where will our ad- 
miration of this great man cease ? — the thunder of 

likewise saw a brig with twelve ships, so that they were now four- 
teen sail of the line, and a brig. L' Alert then began to put the 
admiral's orders into execution, viz. to stand toward the enemy 
until nearly within gun-shot, and then to manoeuvre, and endea- 
vour to draw them towards the outer shoal lying off the island ; 
but the English admiral, without doubt, had experienced pilots 
on board, as he did not pay any attention to the brig's track, but 
allowed her to go away, hauling well around all the dangers. 
At this time, a small boat dispatched from Alexandria to Rosetta, 
voluntarily bore down to the English brig, which took possession 
of her, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of L'Alert to pre- 
vent it, by firing a great many shot at the boat. At five o'clock, 
the enemy came to tlie wind in succession. This manoeuvre 
convinced us that they intended attacking us that evening. The 
admiral got the top-gallant yards across, but soon after made the 
signal that he intended engaging the enemy at anchor. After 
this signal, each ship ought to have sent a stream-cable to the 
ship astern of her, and to have made a hawser fast to the cable 
about twenty fathoms in the water, and passed the opposite side 

to that intended as a spring ; this ivas not generally executed. 

Orders were then given to let go another bower anchor, and the 
broadsides of the ships were brought to bear upon the enemy, ha- 
ving the ships' heads S. E. from the island of Bequier, forming a 
line about thirteen hundred fathoms N. W. and S. E. distant from 
each other eighty fathoms, and with an anchor out S. S. E. At 
a quarter past five, one of the enemy's ships that was steering 
to get to windward of the headmost of the line, ran on the reef 
E. N. E. of the island. She had immediate assistance from the 
brig, and got afloat in the morning. The battery on the island 
opened a fire on the enemy, and their shells fell ahead of the se- 
cond ship In the line. At half past five the headmost ships of our 
line being within gun-shot of die English, the admiral made tlie 
signal to engage, which was not obeyed till the enemy was with- 
in jpistol-shot, and just doubling us. The action then became 



96 MEMOIRS OF 

the cannon, as already observed in the narrative, had 
scarcely ceased an instant, when, \vith that grateful 

very warm. The Conquerant began to fire, then Le Guerrler, 
Le Spartlate, L'Aquilon, Le Peuple Souveram, and Le Frank- 
lin. At six o'clock, die Serieuse frigate and the Hercule bomb 
cut their cables and got under weigh, to avoid the enemy's fire. 
They got on shore ; the Serieuse caught fire and had part of her 
masts burnt ; the Artemise was obliged to get under weigh, and 
likewise got on shore. The two frigates sent their ships' com- 
panics aboard the different line of battle ships. The sloops of war, 
two bombs, and several transports that were with the fleet, were 
more successful, as they got under weigh, and reached the an- 
chorage under the protection of the fort of Aboukir. All the van 
were attacked on both sides by die enemy, who ranged close 
along our line. They had each an anchor out astern, which 
facihtated dieir motions, and enabled them to place diemselves 
in the most advantageous position. At a quarter past six the 
Franklin opened her fire upon die enemy from the starboard 
side ; at three quarters past six she was engaged on both sides. 
The L'Orient at diis time began firing from her starboard 
guns ; and at seven the Tonnant opened her fire. 

All die ships from the Guerrier to the Tonnant were now en- 
caged against a superior force: this only redoubled the ardour of 
the French, who kept up a very heavy fire. At eight o'clock at 
night, die ship which was engaging the L'Orient on the starboard 
quarter, notwithstanding her advantageous position, was dismast- 
ed, and so roughly treated, that she cut her cables, and drove 
farther from the line. This event gave die Franklin hopes that 
L'Orient would now be able to assist her, by attacking one of the 
ship^ opposed to her, but at this very moment die two ships diat 
had been observed astern of the fleet, and were quite fresh, steer- 
ed right for die centre. One of diem anchored on L'Orient's 
starboard bow, and the other cut the line astern of L'Orient, and 
anchored off her larboard quarter. The action in diis place then 
became extremely warm. Admiral de Brueys, who had at this 
time been slighdy wounded in the head and arm, very soon ie- 



LORD NELSON. 97 

and truly devout attention to the dispensations of an 
almighty Power and Providence, which is one among 

celved a shot In the belly, which almost cut him in two. He de- 
sired not to be carried below, but to be left to die upon deck : he 
lived but a quarter of an hour. Rear-admiral Blanquet, as well as 
his aid-de camp, were unacquainted with this melancholy event 
until the action was nearly over. Admiral Blanquet received a 
severe wound In the face, which knocked him down ; he was car- 
ried off the deck senseless. At a quarter past eight o'clock the 
Peuple Souverain drove to leeward of the line, and anchored a 
cable's length abreast of the L'Orient : It was not kno\^'n what un- 
fortunate event occasioned this. The vacantplace she made placed 
the Franklin In a more unfortunate position, and it became very 
critical from the manoeuvre of one of the enemy's fresh ships, 
which had been sent to the assistance of the ship on shore. She 
anchored athwart the Franklin's bows, and commenced a very 
heavy raking fire. Notwithstanding tlie dreadful situation of the 
ships In the centre, they continually kept up a very heavy fire. — 
At half past eight o'clock the action was general from the Guer- 
rier to the Mercure. Admiral de Bruey's death, and the se- 
vere v/ounds of Admiral Blanquet, must have deeply affected the 
people who fought under them, but it added to their ardour for 
revenge, and the action continued on both sides with great obsti- 
nacy. At nine o'clock the ships in the van slackened tlieir fire, 
and soon after totally ceased ; and with infinite sorrow we suppo- 
sed they had surrendered. They were dismasted very soon after 
the action began, and so much damaged, that It is to be presumed 
that they could not hold out any longer against an enemy so su- 
perior by an advantageous position, in placing several ships 
against one. At a quarter past nine o'clock the L'Orient caught 
fire In the cabin ; it soon afterwards broke out upon the poop : 
every effort was made to extinguish It, but without effect ; and 
very soon it was so considerable, that there was no hopes of saving 
the ship. At half past nine, CItoyen GlUet, capltalne de pavilion 
of the Franklin was very severely wounded, and was carried off 
deck. At three quarters past nine tlie arm-chest filled with mus- 

14 



98 MEMOIRS OF 

the genuine characteristics of all great minds, he is- 
sued circular orders throughout the whole fleet, re- 

qu€t-cartrldges blew up, and set fire to several places In the poop 
and quarter-deck, but was fortunately extinguished. Her situa- 
tion, however, was still very desperate ; surrounded by enemies, 
and only eighty fathoms to windward of L'Orient entirely on fire, 
there could not be any other expectation than falling a prey either 
to the enemy, or the flames. At ten o'clock the main and mizen- 
masts fell, and all the guns on tlie main-deck were dismounted. 
At half past ten the Tonant cut her cables, to avoid the fire of the 
L'Orient. The English ship that was on L'Orient's larboard 
quarter, so soon as she had done firing at her, brought her broad- 
side upon the Tonant's bow, and kept up a very heavy raking fire. 
The Heureux and Mercure conceived that tliey ought likewise to 
cut their cables. This manoeuvre created so much confusion 
amongst the rear ships, that they fired into each other, and did 
considerable damage. The Tonant anchored ahead of the Guil- 
liaume Tell ; the Genereux and Timoleon, the other two ships, 
got on shore. The ship that engaged the Tonant on her bow 
cut her cables ; all her rigging and sails were cut to pieces, and 
she drove dov/n, and anchored astern of the English ship, that 
had been engaging the Heureux and Mercure before they chang- 
ed their position. Those of the etat-major and ship's company of 
the L'Orient who had escaped deatli, convinced of the impossi- 
bility of extinguishing the fire, which had got down on the mid- 
dle gun- deck, endeavoured to save themselves. Rear- admiral 
Ganteaume saved himself in a boat, and went on board of the 
Salamine, and from thence to Aboukir and Alexandria. The 
Adjutant-general Motard, although badly wounded, swam to the 
ship nearest L'Orient, which proved to be English. Commodore 
Casabianca, and his son only ten years old, who, during the ac- 
tion gave proofs of bravery and intelligence far above his age, 
were not so fortunate. They were in the water, upon the wreck of 
L'Orient's masts, not being able to swim, seeking each other un- 
til three quarters past ten, when the ship blew up, and put an end 
to their hopes and fears. The explosion was dreadful, and spread 



LORD NELSON. 99 

commending each indiviclLialto join with him in ren- 
dering their humblest thanks to that Supreme Power, 

the fire all around to a considerable distance. The Franklin's 
decks were covered with red-hot seams, pieces of timber, and 
rope on fire. She was on fire, but luckily got it under. Immediate- 
ly after the tremendous explosion, the action ceased every where, 
and was succeeded by the most profound silence. The sky was 
darkened by clouds of black smoke, which seemed to threaten the 
destruction of the two fleets. It was a quarter of an hour before 
the ships' crews recovered from the kind of stupor they were 
thrown into. Towards eleven o'clock, the Franklin, anxious to 
preserve the trust confided to her, re-commenced the action with 
a few of her lower-deck guns; all the rest were dismounted: two- 
thirds of the ship's company were killed and wounded, and those 
who remained most fatigued. She was surrounded by enemy's 
ships, who mowed down the men every broadside. At half past 
eleven o'clock, having only three lower-deck guns that could de^ 
fend the honour of the flag, it became necessary to put an end 
to so disproportioned a struggle, and Citoyen Martinet, captain 
of a frigate, ordered the colours to be struck. 

" The action in the rear of the fleet was very trifling until 
three quarters past eleven o'clock, when it became very warm. 
Three of the enemy's sjiips were engaging tliem, and two were 
very near. The Tonant, already badly treated, who was nearest 
the ships engaged, returned a very brisk fire. About three o'clock 
in the morning she was dismasted, and obliged to cut her cables 
a second time ; and not having any more anchors left, she drove 
on shore. The Guilliaume Tell, Le Genereux, and the Timoleon, 
shifted their births, and anchored further down, out of gun-shot; 
these vessels were not much damaged. At half past three o'clock 
the action ceased throughout the line. Early in the morning the 
frigate La Justice got under weigh, and made several small tacks 
to keep near the Guilliaume Tell, and at nine o'clock anchored ; 
an English ship having got under weigh, and making small tacks 
to prevent her getting away. At six o'clock two English ships 
joined those who had been engaging tlie rear, and began firing 



100 MEMOIRS OF 

for the assistance and protection it had afforded them 
in the hour of battle. 

on the Heureaux and Mercure, which were aground. The for- 
mer soon struck, and the latter followed the example, as they 
could not bring their broadsides to bear upon the enemy. At half 
past seven the ship's crew of 1' Artemise frigate quitted her, and 
set her on fire : at eight o'clock she blew up. The enemy with- 
out doubt had received great damage in their masts and yards, 
as they did not get under weigh to attack the remains of the 
French fleet. The French flag was flying on board four ships 
of the line and two frigates. This division made the mofl: of 
their time; and at three quarters past eleven Le Guilliaume Tell, 
Le Genereux, La Diane, and La Justice got under weigh, and 
formed in line of battle. The English ship that was under sail 
stood towards her fleet, fearing that she might be cut off ; but 
two other enemy's ships were immediately under weigh to assist 
her. At noon the Timoleon, which probably was not in a fl;ate 
to put to sea, steered right for the shore under her foresail ; and 
as soon as she struck the ground her foremast fell. The French 
division joined the enemy's ships which ranged along their line 
on opposite tacks within pistol shot, and received their broad- 
sides, which it returned : they then each continued their route. 
The division was in sight at sun-set. Nothing remarkable pas- 
sed during the night of the 2d. The 3d of August, in the morn- 
ing, the French colours were flying in the Tonant and Timole- 
on. The English admiral sent a flag of truce to the former, to 
know if she had struck ; and upon being answered in the nega- 
tive, he directed swo ships to go against her. When they got 
within gun-shot of her, slie struck, it being impossible to defend 
her any longer. The Timoleon was aground too near in for any 
ship to approach her. In the night of the 2d they sent the great- 
est part of their ship's company on shore; and at noon the next 
day they quitted her and set her on fire. 

Thus ends the jounial of the 1st, 2d, and 3d days of August, 
which will ever be remembered with the deepest sorrow by those 



LORD NELSON. 101 

That duty performed, and the arrangements rela- 
tive to his own ships and their prizes, which absolute 

Frenchmen who possess good hearts, and by all those true repub- 
licans who have survived this melancholy disaster." 

To the foregoing may not inaptly be added the account given 
by Denon of the same transaction ; a detail given by one of the 
Savans, and intended to perpetuate the event to posterity, may, 
in the opinions of some, be more interesting than even that of the 
admiral in chief would have been had he survived. 

" When we had reached the tower which commands the mo- 
nastery, we descried a fleet of twenty sail. To come up, to range 
tliemselves in a line,and to attack, were the operations of a minute. 
The first shot was fired at five o'clock ; and shortly after our 
view of the two fleets was intercepted by the smoke. When 
night came on, we could distinguish somewhat better, without 
however being able to give an account of what passed. The 
danger to which we were exposed, of falling into the hands of the 
smallest troop of Bedouins which might come that way, did not 
draw our attention from an event, by which we were so strongly 
interested. Rolls of fire incessantly gushing from the mouths 
of the cannon, evinced clearly that the combat war- dreadful, and 
supported with an equal obstinacy on both sides. On our return 
to Rosetta, we climbed on the roofs of the houses, whence, at ten 
o'clock, we perceived a strong light which indicated a fire. A few 
minutes afterwards, we heard a terrible explosion, which was fol- 
lowed by a profound silence. As we had seen a firing kept up 
from the left to the right, on the object in flames, we drew a con- 
clusion that it was one of the enemy's ships, which had been set 
fire to by our people ; and v/e imputed the silence which ensued 
to the retreat of the English, who, as our ships were moored, were 
exclusively in possession of the range of the bay, and who, conse- 
quently, could persevere in, or discontinue the combat at plea- 
sure. At eleven o'clock a slow fire was kept up ; and at midnight 
the action again became general : it continued until two in the 
morning. At day-break I was at the advanced posts ; and ten 
minutes after, the fleets were once more engaged. At nine 



102 MEMOIRS OF 

necessity demanded should not be deferred, being 
made, the rear-admiral proceeded to inform his coun- 

o'clock another ship blew up. At ten, four ships tlie only ones 
which were not disabled, and which I could distinguish to be 
French, crowded their sails, and quitted the field of battle, in the 
possession of which they appeared to be, as they were neither 
attacked, nor followed. Such was the phantom produced by the 
cnthusiam of hope. 

"I took my station at thetower of Abumandur,whencel count- 
ed twenty-five vessels, half of which were shattered wrecks, and 
the others incapable of manoeuvring to afford them assistance. For 
three days we remained in this state of cruel uncertainty. By the 
help of my spying-glass I had made a drawing of this disastrous 
scene, to be enabled the better to ascertain, whether the morrow 
"would be productive of any change. In this way we cherished il- 
lusion, and spurned at all evidence ; until at length the passage 
across the bar being cut off,and the communication with Alexan- 
dria intercepted, we found that our situation was altered, and 
that, separated from the mothei'-country, we were become the 
inhabitants of a distant colony, where we should be obliged to 
depend on our own resources for subsistence until the peace.— 
We leained that it v/as L'Orient which blew up at ten o'clock 
at night, and the Hercule the following morning ; and that the 
captains of the ships of the line the Guilliame Tell and Gene- 
reux, and of the frigates La Diane and La Justice, perceiving 
that the rest of the fleet had fallen into the enemy's hands, had 
taken advantage of a moment of lassitude and inaction on the ? 
part of the English, to effect their escape. We learned, lastly, 
that the first of August had broken the unity of our forces ; and 
that the destruction of our fleet, by which the lustre of our glo- 
ry was tarnished, had restored to the enemy the empire of the 
Mediterranean — an empire which had been wrested from them, 
by the matchless exploits of our armies, and which could only- 
have been secured to us, by the existence of our ships of war." 

Denon's Travels, vol. t. 



LORD NELSON. 103 

try of the glorious tidings of his success : his own 
modest narrative reflects on him an higher praise than 
could the most laboured and splendid eulogium :* 

N. B. The translator shrewdly remarks, that throughout the 
whole of this narrative of the defeat of the French fleet In Abou- 
kir Bay, it should be recollected, that it is the production of a 
Frenchman, who either v/ould not, or could not see things pre- 
cisely as they were. N. B. The British force consisted of fifteen 
sail only, including the Mutlne brig. 

In spite of the prejudices of a Frenchman, he adds, in a subse- 
quent page, " The shore, to the extent of four leagues, was cover- 
ed by wrecks, v/hich enabled us to form an estimate of tJie lo2£ 
that we had sustained at tlie battle of Abouklr. To procure a few 
nails, or a few iron hoops, the v.-andering Arabs v\'ere employed 
in burning on the beach the masts, gun-carriages, boats, <Scc. &:c. 
which had been constructed at so vast an expense in our ports." 

From the foregoing testimonies, some judgment perhaps may 
be formed of the opinion entertained by Frenchmen, in respect to 
the extent and importance of the disaster. 

* «' Vanguard, off the Month of the Nile, 
« Sir, August Tth, 1798. 

" Inclosed is a copy of my letter to the Earl of St. Vinceni!: 
together with a line of battle of the English and French squad- 
rons, also a list of the killed and wounded. I have the pleasure 
to inform you that eight of our sliips have already vop-galLmf- 
yards across, and ready for any service ; the others, with thf- 
prizes, will soon be ready for sea. In an event of this importance 
I have thought it right to send C J.ptaln Cupel with a copy of my 
letter (to the commander in chief) overland, which I hope their 
lordships v/ill approve; and beg leave to refer them to Captain 
Capel, who is a most excellent officer, and fully able to give every 
information ; and I beg leave to recommend him to their lord- 
ships' notice. 

" I have the honour to be, &c. 

** Horatio Neisok- 

" Evan Nepean, Esq. 



10.^ MEMOIRS OF 

Such was the fate of the fleet of France employed 
on the expidition against Egypt, commanded by 
Admiral Brueys, an officer esteemed as gallant, and 

" N. B. The island I have taken possession of, and brought off 
two thirteen-inch mortars, all the brass guns, and destroyed the 
iron ones." 

" My Lord, 
"Almighty Gob has blessed his majesty's arms in the late 
battle, by a great victory over the fleet of the enemy, whom I at- 
tacked at sun-set on the first of August, off the Mouth of the Nile. 
The enemy were moored in a strong line of battle for defending 
the entrance of the Bay (of shoals) flanked by numerous gun- 
boats, four frigates, and a battery of guns and mortars, on an isl- 
and in their van ; but nothing could withstand the squadron your 
lordship did me the honour to place under my command. Their 
high state of dicipline is well known to you ;and, with the judg- 
ment of the captains, together with their valour, aud that of the 
officers and men of every description, it was absolutely irresisti- 
ble. Could any thing from my pen add to the characters of the 
captains I would write it with pleasure ; but that is impossible. 

" I have to regret the loss of Captain Westcott, of the Majestic, 
who was killed early in the action ; but the ship was continued to 
be so well fought by her first lieutenant Mr. Cuthbert, that I 
have given him an order to command her, till your lordship's 
pleasure is known. 

" The ships of the enemy, all but their two rear ships, are near- 
ly dismasted, and those two, Avith tv/o frigates, I am sorry to say, 
made their escape ; nor was it, I assure you, in my power to pre- 
vent them. Captain Hood most handsomely endeavoured to do 
it ; but I had nO ship in a condition to support the Zealous, and I 
was obliged to call her in. 

" The support and assistance I have received from Captain Ber- 
ry cannot be sufficiently expressed. 1 was wounded in the head, 
and obliged to be carried off deck; but the service suffered no loss 
by that event. Captain Beny was fully equal to the important 
service then going on, aud to him I must beg leave to refer you 



LORD NELSON. 



105 



as able in his profession, as any that country has ever 
boasted. The force under his orders, at the com- 
mencement of the action, as will be seen on reference 
to the annexed list, consisted of thirteen ships of the 

for every information relative to this victory. He will present 
you with the flag of the second in command, that of the com- 
mander in chief being burnt in L'Orient. 

« Herewith I transmit you lists of the killed and wounded, 
and the lines of battle of ourselves and the French. 
" I have the honour to be, &c. 

Horatio Nelson. 
« To Admiral the Earl of St. 

Vincent, the commander in 

chief, &c. &c. off Cadiz." 

ENGLISH LINE OF BATTLE. 



Ships Names. 


Captains. 


Guns. 


Men. 


CuUoden, 


T. Troubridge, 


74 


590 


Theseus, 


R. W. Miller, 


- 74 


590 


Alexander, 


A. J. Ball, 
r Rear-Admiral Sir H. 


74 


590 


Vanguard, 


■J Nelson, K. B. 
i. Edward Berry, 


V - 74 


595 


Minotaur, 


Thos. Lewis, 


- 74 


640 


Leander, 


T. B. Thompson, 


50 


343 


Swiftsure, 


B. Hallowell, 


- 74 


590 


Audacious, 


D. Gould, 


74 


590 


Defence, 


John Peyton, 


- 74 


590 


Zealous, 


Samuel Hood, 


74 


590 


Orion, 


Sir J. Saumarez, 


- 74 


590 


Goliah, 


Thos. Foley, 


- 74 


590 


Majestic, 


G. B. Wescott, 


74 


590 


Bellerophon 


, H. D. E. Darby, - 


- 74 


590 


La Mutine 


Brig. 










Horatio Neli 


SON. 



15 



106 



MEMOIRS OF 



line, together with four frigates ; carrying twelve 
hundred guns, and from ten to eleven thousand men. 
Nine sail of the line were taken, two were burned, 
and two escaped. Of the frigates, one was sunk, 
another burned, and two escaped. The loss of men 
was calculated, at nearly eight thousand ; but the pri- 



FRENCH LINE OF BATTLE. 



Ships' Names. 
Le Guerrler, 
Le Conquerant, 
Le Spartiate, 
L'Aqullon, 
Le Souverain Peuple, 



Guns. 

74. 
• 74 

74 
-74 

74 



Le Franklin, 

L' Orient, 

Le Tenant, 
L'Heureux, 
Le Timoleon, 
Le Mercure, 
Le Guilliaume 

Tell, 
Le Genereux, 



Ships' Names. 
La Diane, 
La Justice, 
L'Artemise, 
La Serieuse, 



1 



Blanquet, first centre 1 



Admiral 



80 



Men. 

600 Taken. 

700 Taken. 

700 Taken. 

700 Taken. 

700 Taken. 

800 Taken. 



rBrueys, admiral, 
< and command- 
(. er in chief 



} 



120 1010 Burnt. 



1 



Villeneuve, second 1 
centre admiral 3 



FRIGATES. 



80 

74 
74 
74 

80 

74. 



800 Taken. 

700 Taken. 
700 Burnt. 
700 Taken. 

800 Escaped, 

700 Escaped. 



Horatio Nelson, 



Guns. Men. 

- 48 300 Escaped. 
44 SOO Escaped. 

- 36 250 Burnt. 

36 250 Dismasted and sunk. 
Horatio Nelson. 



Vanguard, off the Mouth of the Nile, 
August 3d, 179s. 



LORD NELSON. 10? 

soners and wounded were all restored, on condition 
of not serving against England until exchanged. The 
British squadron consisted, as already stated, of thir- 
teen sail of the line, twelve only of which were en- 
gaged, and a fifty-gun ship ; carrying little more than 
a thousand guns, and eight thousand men. Of the 
English, the slain and wounded were nine hundred.* 
It has been most animatedly observed, this victory 
was the most signal that had graced the British navy 
since the days when the Spanish armada was defeat- 
ed. Its effects were surprising, and instantaneously 
felt over all Europe. The enemies of France every 
where recovered from the despondency they had 
fallen into, previous to this great event, and an evi- 
dent reanimation took place in all their councils, 
which were now occupied with the means of improv- 
ing a success of so much importance. During the 
action, the roaring of the cannon, the flashes of the 
lightning, interrupted only by short intervals of sus- 

* The following spirited address to Lord Nelson, which closes 
a description of the battle of the Nile, is extracted from the Poli- 
tical Green-House, a poem, published at Hartford Connecticut, 
in 1798, and which, we are happy to learn, is preparing for the 
press, together with a general collection of the political and satir- 
ical poems, which, under the titles of Echoes and New- Year's 
Verses, have occasionally appeared from tliat quarter ; 
*' What fruits shall on this victory grow 
" All climes shall see, all ages know — 
" Earth's eastern realms that long have view'd 
" Descending suns go down in blood, 
" Now, with the western world, shall frame 
" Loud Paeans, Nelson, to thy name !" 

/American Publisher 



108 MEMOIRS OF 

pense, shook the Egyptian shore for many leagues 
around, and filled the alarmed and trembling inhabi- 
tants, both strangers and natives, with unspeakable 
agitation. The French transports in the harbour, 
and within the garrison of Alexandria, waited in sus- 
pense for their personal doom, as well as the fate of 
the French navy. Even so far as Rosetta, distant 
about thirty miles from Aboukir, the battle, by the 
aid of glasses, was seen by French officers, from its 
minarets and towers, though confusedly ; and the ex- 
plosion of L'Orient was accompanied by a shaking of 
the earth, perceptible at that distance. Bodies of 
Arabs, drawn to the shore by the awful sight and 
sound, learning the fate of their invaders, felt their 
resentment and indignation awakened by the hope 
of revenge on their enemies. They lighted up fires 
on the shore, in testimony of their joy and exultation, 
at the successful bravery of the English. They gave 
no shelter, but, on the contrary committed every 
outrage on parties of the vanquished, who made their 
way to the villages for safety from their wrecked and 
burning ships. They interrupted the communica- 
tion of the French for sometime, between the bay 
and neighbouring towns, until Buonaparte made ar- 
rangements for their security, by superior force. 

The instant the most pressing necessities of the 
victorious fleet were provided for, the active mind of 
the British admiral became immediately turned to- 
wards every object that he thought could in the small- 
est degree effect, or promote the interests of his 
country. Fearing, as unfortunately proved the case, 
some accident might prevent the dispatches sent by 



LORD NELSON. 309 

the Leander from reaching the Biitish government 
so soon as he might wish, Captain Capel was, as 
has already been seen, ordered to Naples, and to pro- 
ceed from thence overland to England ; and after an 
interval of two days. Lieutenant Duval, of the Zea- 
lous, was sent overland to Bombay, to apprize the 
governor of the extent of the French armament 
which had proceeded to Egypt, with an account of 
the principal events which had taken place subsequent 
to its arrival.* Thus having endeavoured, as far, per- 

* " Vanguard, Mouth of the Nile, 
"Sir, August 9th, 1798. 

" Although I hope the consuls, who are, or ought to be, resi- 
dent in Egypt, have sent you an express of the situation of affairs 
here ; yet as I know Mr. Baldwin has some months left Alexan- 
dria, it is possible you may not be regularly informed. I shall, 
tlierefore, relate to you briefly that a French army of forty thou- 
sand meU; in three hundred transports, with thirteen sail of the 
line, eleven frigates, bomb-vessels, gun-boats, &c. &c. arrived at 
Alexandria on the 1st of July. On tlie 7th they left it for Cairo, 
where they arrived onthe22d. During their march they had some 
actions with the Mamelukes, which the French call great victories. 
As I have Bonaparte's dispatches now before me, which I took 
yesterday,! speak positively. He says, "I am now going to send 
off to take Suez and Damietta." He does not speak favourably 
either of country or people ; but tliere is such bombast in his let- 
ters that it is difficult to get at the truth ; but you may be sure he 
is only master of what his army covers. From all the inquiries 
which I have been able to make, I cannot learn that any French 
vessels are at Suez, to carry any part of his army to India. Bom- 
bay, if they can get there, I know is the first object ; but I trust 
the Almighty God, in Egypt, will overthrow these pests of the 
human race. It has been in my power to prevent twelve thousand 
men from leaving Genoa, and also to take eleven sail of the line 
and two frigates. Two sail of the line and tv>o frigates have es- 



110 MEMOIRS OF 

haps, as human sagacity could foresee, to profit by 
his success, the refitment both of his own ships and 
the prizes was continued with so much earnestness, 
that on the 18th of August he was enabled to quit the 
Bay of Aboukir with his fleet : leaving Captain Hood 
with a small detachment, consisting of four ships of 
the line and two frigates, to block up the port of 
Alexandria, and prevent the introduction of any fur- 

caped me. This glorious batdewas fought at the Mouth of the 
Nile, at anchor. It began at sun-set, and was not finished at three 
the next morning. It has been severe ; but God favoured our 
endeavours with a great victory. I am now at anchor between 
Alexandria and Rosetta, to prevent their communication by wa- 
ter ; and nothing under a regiment can pass by land. But I 
should have informed you that the French have four thousand 
men posted at Rosetta, to keep open the Mouth of the Nile. Alex- 
andria, both town and shipping, are so distressed for provisions, 
that they can only get them from the Nile by water ; therefore 
I cannot guess the good which may attend my holding our pre- 
sent position : for Buonaparte writes his distress for stores, artille- 
ry, and things for the hospital, Sec. All useful communication 
Is at an end between Alexandria and Cairo. You may be sure I 
shall remain here as long as possible. Buonaparte had never yet 
to contend with an English officer, and I shall endeavour to 
make him respect us. 

" This is all I have to communicate. 1 am confident every 
precaution will be taken to prevent in future any vessels going to 
Suez, which may be able to carry troops to India. If my letter 
is not so correct as might be expected, I trust your excuse, when 
I tell you my brain is so shook with the wound in my he^d that 
I am sensible I am not always as clear as could be wished ; but, 
whilst a ray of reason remains, my heart and hand shall ever be 
exerted for the benefit of my king and country. 

" I have the honour to be, &c. Sec. 

« Horatio Nelson.'^' 



LORD NELSON. Ill 

ther supplies into that place for the use of the French 
army. Towards the end of the month, he quitted 
for some time the shores of Egypt, and proceeded to 
Naples, where he arrived on the 22d of September. 
The reception he met with at that city, could not be 
exceeded, except by what it is certain he would have 
found from his own countrymen, had he returned to 
England immediately after the great event just men- 
tioned. The British nation rang in an extacy of joy 
with his praises ; and even children who scarcely 
knew how to articulate, were taught to lisp out the 
name of Nelson, as in gratitude to the heroism of a 
deliverer who had preserved them from the worst of 
evils. The sovereign, and never sure was honour 
more deservedly acquired, raised him to a peerage ; 
and the parliament, in addition to their thanks,* 

* To which his lordship returned the following answer : 

" Vanguard, Palermo, Jan. 31st, 1799. 
« Sir, 
** Believe me I feel as I ought the noble reward which our 
country has bestowed on me by its thanks, and I beg, sir, you will 
have the goodness to express to the honourable house my grati- 
tude. I can answer for that of my brave brethren who fought 
with me in the battle of the Nile. To you, sir, who have not 
only so handsomely, but so elegantly, conveyed to me the resolu- 
tions of the house, words are inadequate to express what I feel ; 
but, believe me, sir, I am, with every sentiment of respect and 
esteem, 

« Your most obliged and faithful servant, 

" Nelson. 
*' To the Right Honourable Henry 
Addington, speaker of the house 
of commons." 



IIJ MEMOIRS OF 

granted him for his own life, together with those of 
his two next heirs, an annuity of two thousand pounds 
per annum.* Nor was this all : the government of 
Ireland contributed its mite, by an addition of one 
thousand pounds annually, during the same term ; 
and the East India Company voted him a gift of ten 
thousand pounds, while that of the merchants trading 
to Turkey, in proportion to the magnitude of their 
concerns, were not less liberal, having presented him 
with plate of considerable value* 

* The unexampled series of our naval triumphs has received 
fiesh spendor from the memorable and decisive action in which 
a detachment of my fleet, under the command of Rear-admiral 
Nelson, attacked and almost totally destroyed a superior force of 
the enemy, strengthened by every advantage of situation. By this 
great and brilliant victory, an enterprise, of which the injustice, 
perfidy, and extravagance, had fixed the attention of the world, 
and which was peculiarly directed against some of the most valu- 
able interests of the British empire, has, in the first instance, been 
turned to the confusion of its authors, and the blow thus given to 
tlie power and influence of France, has afforded an opening, 
vv^hich, if improved by suitable exertions on the part of other pow- 
ers, may lead to the general deliverance of Europe. 

Extract from his Majesty's Speech on the meeting 
of Parliament, November 20th, 1798. 

In two days afterwards a message from his majesty, recom- 
mending the grant of an annuity of two thousand pounds per an- 
num to Lord Nelson, and the two next male heirs to whom the 
title of Baron Nelson of the Nile shall descend, was communicat- 
ed to the house of commons, by Mr. Pitt, as chancellor of the 
exchequer : 

It is needless to say the only debate on the occasion arose from 
the dissatisfaction expressed by some gentlemen that the honours 
and pecuniary rewards proposed to be bestowed upon him were 
aot infinitely greater. 



LORD NELSON. 113 

The tribute of the city of London was a sword ; 
and although it is most probable that so appropriate a 
proof of its respect and esteem would have been 
shown to the noble admiral, even if the subjoined in- 
tercourse had not taken place, yet, as it preceded the 
gift, it will not be improperly or uninterestingly in- 
troduced. 

A court of common council being held in London, 
on the 3d of October, 1798, it was attended by two 
hundred members. The business was opened by 
the Lord Mayor, who read the following letter, 
which he had received from Admiral Nelson : 

" Vanguard, Mouth of the Nile, 
«< My Lord, August 8th, 1798. 

" Having the honour of being a freeman of the city of London, 
I take the liberty of sending to your lordship the sword of the 
commanding French admiral, Monsieur Blanquet, who survi- 
ved after the battle of the 1st, off the Nile, and request that the 
city of London will honour me by the acceptance of it, as a re- 
membrance that Britannia still rules the waves, which, that she 
may for ever do, is the fervent prayer of your lordship's most 
obedient servant. 

" Horatio Nelson. 
'•Right Hon. Lord Mayor of London." 

An enthusiastic tumult of applause followed the 
reading of this letter ; and on the motion of Mr. De- 
puty Leekey, the sword was ordered to be placed 
among the city regalia ; after which the thanks of 
the court were unanimously voted to Admiral Lord 
Viscount Nelson, and to the officers and seamen un- 
der his command. The court having met again the fol- 
lowing day, it was as numerously attended as before; 
and Mr. Deputy Leekey presented a report respect- 

16 



114 MEMOIRS OF 

ing the French admiral's sword, which, after a short 
debate, was ordered to be placed in an elegant glass- 
case, in the most conspicuous part of the council- 
room, with the following inscription upon a tablet of 
marble : 

" The sword of Monsieur Blanquet, the commanding French 
admiral, in the glorious victory off the Nile, on the 1st of Au- 
gust, 1798, presented to this court by the Right Honourable 
Admiral Lord Nelson." 

It was then resolved, " that a sword valued at two 
hundred guineas, should be presented to Rear- Ad- 
miral Lord Nelson, as a testimony of the high esteem 
they entertain of his public services to this city, and 
to the whole empire, and that the Lord Mayor be re- 
quested to provide and present the same to him ; al- 
so, that the freedom of the city of London be pre- 
sented to Captain Berry,* in a gold box of one hun- 

* Sir Edward Berryf is the eldest son of a reputable tradesman, 
who, through the misfortunes naturally incident to a mercantile 
life, and having a large family, died, without being enabled to 
provide for it agreeable to his wishes. Sir Edward was born in 
the year 1767> and had the good fortune to be introduced into 
the naval service, which he had at an early period of life shewn a 
predilection for, through the interest of Lord Mulgrave, who 
had received part of his education at Norwich, under the tuition 
of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Forster, uncle of Sir Edward. Under this 
nobleman's patronage and protection, Mr. Berry began his nau- 
tical career, and his first voyage was about the year 177 9, when 
he was scarcely fouteen years old, to the East-Indies, in the Bur- 
ford of seventy guns. It is said, that he received his com- 
mission as lieutenant from Earl Spencer on account of his very- 
gallant conduct in boarding an enemy's vessel. He was present 

t A brother of Sir Edward — Jcuin Berry, Esq. of New York, has been 
loua; a resident in the United States. — Ainerican Piddhher. 



LORD NELSON. 115 

dred guineas value, as a testimony of the high esteem 
entertained of his gallant behaviour on the first of 

at the engagement under Earl Howe, on the 1st of June, 1794-, in 
which action he is reported to have conspicuously signalized him- 
self. Having, owing solely to his merit, formed an acquaintance 
with the Earl of St. Vincent and Commodore Nplson, he was most 
particularly distinguished by the latter, and served under him in 
the ever-memorable engagement off St. Vincent, on the 14th of 
February, and was particularly active in boarding the San Nicho- 
las and San Josef, both of which ships fell victims to the exer- 
tions of his gallant commander. The assistance afforded by Cap- 
tain Berry, and the spirit he displayed throughout the whole of 
the important encounter, most strongly endeared him to his supe- 
riors in naval rank, particulary to Mr. Nelson, insomuch that 
they formed the unshakeable basis of a friendship which ceased 
not but with the life of that noble person. Mr. Berry afterwards 
attended his former commander into tlie Mediterranean, being 
appointed captain of the Vanguard, on board which ship Lord 
Nelson, then Sir Horatio, had hoisted his flag, and in which he 
was consequently present at the engagement off Aboukir. Here 
he had a full opportunity of displaying his abilities and gallantry ; 
nor did he omit to avail himself of it. The particular share 
which he took in that memorable engagement, has been related 
in the account of it, already inserted in these Memoirs. After 
the conclusion of the action, Captain Berry was sent to England 
with the official dispatches, in the Leander of fifty guns. Captain 
Thompson. On his voyage, it was tlieir misfortune to fall in 
with a French ship of very superior force ; but disdaining to 
yield without a contest, they resolutely maintained an engagement 
with her for several hours, till the Leander was so completely 
shattered tliat farther resistance became futile. Captain Thomp- 
son was therefore, though with the utmost reluctance, obliged to 
surrender. In this engagement Captain Berry was wounded in 
the arm. On his exchange, he was received by his country- 
men with great applause : the honour of knightliood was confer- 
red on him ; and the city of London not only voted him their 



il6 MEMOIRS OF 

August." These motions were carried unanimous- 
ly, amidst repeated bursts of applause. 

thanks, but on his paying a visit to Guildhall, on the 8th of 
August, 1799, he was presented with the freedom of the city in 
a gold box, pursuant to the vote passed in the preceding year. 

Sir Edward returned soon after this period to the Mediterrane. 
an, and being captain of the Foudroyant of eighty guns, Lord 
Nelson's flag ship, accompanied his lordship to Sicily, where he 
landed him, being very much indisposed. Soon after this event, 
the Foudroyant came up with the Guilliaume Tell, a French ship 
of eighty-four guns, one of those which escaped from the destruc- 
tion of Aboukir. The following minute particulars of the en- 
gagement that took place, and which relate to Sir Edward pe- 
culiary, are given in a letter, dated Syracuse, Foudroyant, April 
2d, 1800. 

March 30th, 1800. 

*' Sir Edward Berry, commanding his majesty's ship the Fou- 
droyant of eighty guns, after having landed Lord Nelson ill in 
Sicily, came up with the Guilliaume Tell, a French ship of eighty- 
four guns ; and laying the Foudroyant along side so close that her 
spare anchor was but just clear of the Guilliaume Tell's mizen 
chains, hailed her commander. Admiral Decres, and ordered him 
to strike. The French admiral answered by brandishing a sword 
over his head, and discharged a musquet at Sir Edward Berry. — 
This was followed by a broadside, which nearly unrigged the 
Foudroyant, whose guns, however, being prepared with three 
round shot in each, she poured a most tremendous and effectual 
discharge, crashing through and through the enemy, described as 
a perfect chord of harmony in the ears of our tars, who were in 
their turn a little exposed ; but she fired another broadside, when 
down came the Guilliaume Tell's main and mizen-mast, and at 
the same time the Foudroyant's fore top-mast, jib-boom, sprit- 
sail, main top-sail-yard, stay-sails, fore-sail, and main-sail, all in 
tatters. It was difficult in this situation to get the ship to fall 
off so as to maintain her position. The combatants there- 
fore separated for a few minutes, when Sir Edward Berry call- 



LORD NELSON. 117 

In consequence of the above resolutions, the Lord 
Mayor wrote on the 16th to the noble lord acquaint- 
ing him with their proceedings, and requesting his 
lordship would be pleased to give directions concern- 
ing the devices, with which he should wish the in- 
tended present might be ornamented ; to which his 
lordship returned the following answer : 

« Vanguard, Palermo, Jan. 31, 1799. 
" Sir, 
" I have only this day received your letter, when lord mayor 
of the 16th of October, and beg that you will convey to the 
court of common council my sincere gratitude for all their good- 
ness to me, and assure them it shall be the business of my life 
to act in the manner most conducive to the prosperity of the 
city of London, on which depends that of our country. I am 
truly sensible of your politeness, in desiring me to say what par- 
ticular devices I should wish on the sword which is to be pre- 
sented to me by the city of London, but I beg to leave that to 
die better judgment of my fellow-citizens. Believe me, when 
I assure you 1 feel myself, 

*' Your most faithful and obliged servant, 
" Sir J. W. Anderson." « Nelson. 

The inferior tributes of private individuals must 
not be forgotten. A gentleman of the name of Da- 

ed his men from the main-deck, and cutting away part of the 
wreck, got the ship once more under command, that is, obe- 
dient to her helm, and manageable, and again close along 
side her determined opponent, who nailed his colours to the 
stump of the mast, and displayed his flag on a pole over them. 
Sir Edward then commenced a most heavy and well-directed fire, 
his men having now got into a system of firing every gun two 
or three times in a minute, regularly going through the exercise. 
Musquetry was occasionally used, when the ship was very near 
onboard theGuilliaume Tell; but latterly the mizzen-mast being 
almost in two, Sir Edward called the marines from the poop, and 



118 MEMOIRS OF 

vison, uith a liberality and spirit equalling the char- 
acter of a prince rather than that of a private gen- 
tleman, not only presented his lordship, and all the 
captains under his command, with a gold medal, but 
extended his liberality to every individual serving 
on board the fleet, by bestowing on each a medal of 
silver, gilt metal, or copper, according to their diffe- 
rent ranks.* The captains also who commanded 

put them to the great guns, by which means many lives were cer- 
tainly saved. At a few minutes past eight, the Guilliaume Tail's 
fore-mast was shot away, and becoming a m.ere log, she struck 
her colours. The Foudroyant, in this engagement, expended one 
hundred and sixty-two barrels of powder, twelve hundred thirty- 
two pound sliot, twelve hundred and forty twenty-four pound dit- 
to, one hundred eighteen-pound ditto, and two hundred twelve- 
pound ditto : although much damaged, she was in a very shore 
period ready for sea." 

This was the last engagement in which Sir Edward had the 
power of particularly shewing his gaikntry during that war j 
and since the commencement of the present, he has held no com- 
mand, till he was appointed to the Agamemnon of sixty-fou;- 
guns, in which ship he was present at the late glorious action off 
Cape Trafalgar. 

* A variety of medals were struck on the. occasion ; that pre- 
sented by his majesty displayed a happy union of elegance, grace, 
and simplicity — a representation of Victory, in the act of 
crowning Britannia with a laurel wreath. 

The reverse incloses, by two branches, one of oak and the other 
of laurel,eachrespective name, which is afterwards engraved in the 
centre, with this motto — " In memory of the defeat of the 

FRENCH FLEET ON THE COAST OF EGYPT." The mcdal WaS 

executed by Louis Pingo, Esq. principal engraver of his majes- 
ty's royal mint, in the Tower of London, who was the first artist 
of this description in Europe, and consequently in tlie world. 
The beauty of its execution is, indeed, in the fullest sense, inim- 



LORD NELSON. 119 

the different ships under his orders presented him 
with a magnificent sword, made purposely on the 

itable — worthy at once of the royal donor, tlie exquisite artist, 
and the glorious occasion. 

On the medals struck by order of Mr. Davison, the allegorical 
figure of Hope was represented on the obverse, with the embelm 
proper, standing on a rugged rock, with an olive-branch in her 
right hand, and supporting by her left arm the profile of Lord 
Nelson, on a medallion, to which she is pointing with her fore- 
finger. Hope is crowned with oak and laurel, and the motto to 
the medallion is — " Europe's hope, and Britain's glory." — These 
words express the real feelings of the surrounding nations, and 
the boast of tliis happy island. The legend, " Rear-Admiral 
Lord Viscount Nelson of the Nile." 

The reverse represents the French fleet at anchor in the bay 
of Aboukir and the British fleet advancing to the attack. The 
fortified island in the enemy's van, the four frigates that were 
moored within the line, to cover their flank, and the gun-boats 
near the island — the setting sun — the coast of Egypt — the mouth 
of the Nile — and the castle of Aboukir. The legend — " Almigh- 
ty God has blessed his majesty's arms." Beneath the view — 
" Victory of the Nile, August 1, 1798." 

This noble and disinterested instance of private munificence 
needs no panegyric : we scarcely know which most to applaud, 
tlie heart, which, overflowing with the warmest sensations of 
private friendship, hath paid this public and noble tribute to it, 
or that truly patriotic spirit, which, warmed by the glory and 
fame of his countrymen, has used such classical and accurate 
means of handing down to posterity the peculiar circumstances 
and particulars of an event, the outlines, at least, of which must 
be remembered till time shall be no more. 

Segnius irritant animos demissa per aures, 
Quam quK sunt oculis submissa fidelibus. 
A third displayed on the obverse — Religion supporting the 
bust of Admiral Nelson, with her right hand resting upon a 
cross and skull : near lier is the British lion, defending the Irish 



120 MEMOIRS OF 

occasion, the hilt of which, as an appropriate and 
emblematic device, represented a crocodile. But 
amidst the multitude of affectionate and valuable 
gifts offered to his lordship upon the preceding oc- 
casion, we must not omit to mention a very singular 
one made him by Captain Hallowell, who command- 
ed the Swiftsure, at the battle of the Nile. A vari- 
ety of trivial articles, valuable only as symbols of 
the affection and attention they displayed, and not on 
account of their intrinsic worth, formed out of the 
wreck of 1' Orient, had been sent to his lordship by 
different officers under his orders. Captain Hal- 
lowell's present was a coffin, made out of the main» 
mast, and accompanied with the following note : 
« Sir, « Swiftsure, August, 1798. 

*< I have taken the liberty of presenting you a coffin, made of 
the main- mast of I'Orient, that when you have finished your 
military career in this world, you may be buried in one of your 
trophies ; but that that period may be far distant, is the earnest 
wishof your sincere friend. *' B. Hallowell." 

" Sir Horatio Nelson, 
** Rear-admiral of the Blue, 8cc." 

This very extraordinary present was received by 
his lordship with the utmost cordiality and affection ; 
in so gr^at a degree is he said to have been pleased 
with the singularity which suggested the gift, that 

harp : in the back ground a pyramid and palm-tree, to mark 
the country where the victory was obtained — Legend, " Nothing 
can oppose virtue and courage." 

On the reverse was represented an anchor, on which were 
the royal arms of England, surrounded with a laurel, and a 
scroll, bearing this motto — " Praise be to God — November 
29, 1798." Above, the eye of Providence, denoting its influ- 
ence and favour. — Legend, " Under this sign you shall conquer." 



LORD NELSON. 121 

he is reported to have kept it constantly with him in 
the great cabin, for a considerable space of time ; 
nor was it without much apparent reluctance, that 
he at length consented to have it removed from its 
station. 

Foreign countries were equally munificent. The 
Grand Seignior,- forgetting that disinclination to 

* Immediately on receiving the news of the victory off the 
Mouth of the Nile, the Grand Seignior directed a superb diamond 
aigrette (called achelengk, or plume of triumph) taken from one 
of the imperial turbans, to be sent to Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, 
together with a piece of sable fur, of tlie first quality. He also 
directed a purse of two thousand sequins to be distributed among 
the British seamen wounded at the battle of the Nile. The pre- 
sents were conveyed to Sir Horatio in a Turkish frigate ; and a 
note was delivered to Mr. Smith, his majesty's minister plenipo- 
tentiary at the Porte, upon this occasion, of which the following 
is a translation : 

" It is but lately that, by a written communication, it has been 
made kno^wn how much the Sublime Porte rejoiced at the first 
advice received of tlie English squadron having defeated the 
French squadron, off Alexandria, in Egypt. By recent accounts, 
comprehending a specific detail of the action, it appears now more 
positive that his Britannic Majesty's fleet has actually destroyed, 
by that action, tlie best ships the French had in their possession. 
This joyful event, therefore, laying this empire under an obliga- 
tion, and the service rendered by our much esteemed friend, Ad- 
miral Nelson, on this occasion being of a nature to call for public 
acknowledgment, his imperial majesty, the powerful, formidable, 
and most magnificent Grand Seignior, has destined as a present, 
in his imperial name, to the said admiral, a diamond aigrette 
(chelengk) and a sable fur with broad sleeves ; besides two thou- 
sand sequins, to be distributed among the wounded of his crew. 
And as the English minister Is constantly zealous to contribute, 
by his endeavors, to the increase of friendship between the two 
courts, it is hoped he will not fall to make known this circum- 

17 



122 MEMOIRS OF 

reward any person professing a different religion, a 
disinclination which had, through long habit, grown 

stance to his court, and to solicit the permission of the most pow- 
erful and august king of England, for the said admiral to put 
on and wear the said aigrette and pelisse." 

fChron. Ann, Reg. 1798. p. 88. 
, Dated September 8, 1798. 

The presents made by the Grand Seignior to Lord Nelson were 
brought to Naples by an effendi, or secretary, in the Alcmene 
frigate, which sailed last from Alexandria. His lordship says, 
that the efFendi and his suite, thirteen in number, performed their 
part with great gravity and dignity ; they put on their noble 
robes in his anti-chamber, and presented the aigrette on cushions, 
after the oriental custom. The robe is scarlet cloth lined with 
the finest sable imaginable, and of inestimable value. The aig- 
rette is a kind of feather : it represents a hand with thirteen fin- 
gers, which are of diamonds, and allusive to the thirteen ships 
taken and destroyed at Alexandria ; the size, that of a child's 
hand about six years old, when opened. The centre diamond, 
and the four round it, may be worth about 1000/. each, and 
there are about three hundred others well set. — With these two 
presents were several others of less value, and a letter full of as- 
surances of friendship from the Grand Seignior. 

In respect to the description just given, it is in some measure 
correct, but in many points inadequate to the purpose of convey- 
ing a proper idea of tlte ornament. The translation of the Grand 
Seignior's letter, which accompanied the present, is as extraordi- 
nary as it is singular. ^ 

Constantinople, 3d October, 1798. 

*' A superb aigrette, of which the marginal sketch gives but 
an imperfect idea, called a chelengk, or plume of triumph, such 
as has been upon every famous and memorable success of the Ot- 
toman arms, conferred upon victorious mussulmen Seraskiers, I 
believe never before upon a disbeliever, as the ne plus ultra of per- 
sonal honour, separate from ofiiclal dignity. The one in question is 
esteemed rich in its kind, being a blaze of brilliants crowned with a 



LORD NELSON. J23 

nearly into a fixed principle, sent him a magnificent 
diamond aigrette, and a robe of honour, 'svhich had 

vibrating plumage, and a radiant star in the middle, turning on 
its centre by means of watch-work which winds up behind. This 
badge was absolutely taken from one of the imperial turbans, 
and can hardly, according to the ideas of such insignia here, be 
considered as less than equivalent to the first order of chivalry in 
Christendom — such at least was my view in the indication." 

As connected with the honour just mentioned, we must an- 
nex the following augmentation made to the arms and support- 
ers which he already bore, and which latter he had been author- 
ised to use, on his being created a knight of the Bath. 

*' The king has been graciously pleased to give and grant to the 
Right Hon. Horatio Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnham 
Thorpe in the county of Norfolk, rear-admiral of the blue squad- 
ron of his majesty's fleet, and K. B. in consideration of the great 
zeal, courage, and perserverance manifested by him upon divers 
occasions, and particularly of his able and gallant conduct in the 
glorious and decisive victory obtained over the French fleet at the 
moutli of the Nile, on the 1st of August last, his royal licence and 
authority that he and his issue may bear the following honourable 
augmentations to his armorial ensign, viz. a chief undulated argent , 
thereon avaves of the sea, from ivhich a palm-tree issuant betiveen a d'lS' 
abled ship on the dexter and a ruinous battery on the sinister, all proper ,• 
and for his crest, on a naval crown, or the chelengk or plume of trl- 
umph, presented to him by the Grand Seignior, as a mark of his 
high esteem, and of his sense of the gallant conduct of the said 
Horatio Baron Nelson, in the said glorious and decisive victory, 
with the motto — Palmam qui meruit fer at ; and to his supporters, 
being a sailor on the dexter, and a lion on the sinister, the hon- 
ourable augmentations following, viz. — In the hand of the sailor a 
palm-branch.^ and another In the patv of the lion, both proper, nulth the. 
addition of a trl- coloured flag and staff In the mouth of the latter — wliich 
augmentations to the supporters to be borne by the said Hora- 
tio Baron Nelson, and by those to whom the said dignity shall 
descend in virtue of his majesty's letters patent of creation ; and 
that the same may be first duly exemphfied, according to the law? 



124 MEMOIRS OF 

never before been bestowed, except on Mussulmeii 
who, by their exploits, had acquired the highest re- 
nown. The gift of the dowager Sultana, which ac- 
companied the former, was a valuable diamond orna- 
ment, representing a rose : and the emperor of 
Russia, not to be outdone by his quondam enemy, 
sent him a gold box, set with jewels, and of the esti- 
mated value of two thousand five hundred pounds. 
The kings of Naples and Sardinia, the island of 
Zante, and the city of Palermo, v.'cre each, accord- 
ing to tlieir several abilities, equally liberal in their 
testimonies of gratitude. The latter presented him 
with the freedom of their city, by which honour he 
became a grandee of Spain. The king of Naples in 
particular, in consideration not only of the obligations 
under which, in common Vv'ith the rest of the powers 
at war with France, the preceding victory had laid 
him, and which were afterwards most highly increas- 
ed by the peculiar situation to which that monarch 
was reduced, but of the exertions afterwards made 
by his lordship to serve, and support him in his dis- 
tress, presented him, among many other valuable 
gifts of inferior note, with a superb diamond-hilted 
sword, valued at five thousand pounds.* The pre- 

of arms, and recorded in the herald office ; and also to order 
that his majesty's said concessions, and especial mark of his royal 
favour, be registered in his college at arms.'? 

[London Gazette, Nov. 1796.] 
^"^ He received from tlie king of Sardinia a box set with dia- 
monds, accompanied by a most affectionate letter ; and from the 
inhabitants of the island of Zante, a gold-headed sword and cane, 
as an acknowledgement, that had it not been for the battle of the 
Nile they could not have been liberated from French cruelty. 



LORD NELSON. 125 

sent was the more flattering and appropriate, on ac- 
count of its having been the original sword given to 
the king of Naples by Charles the Third, on his de- 
parture to Spain, accompanied by the following re- 
mark : " With this sword I conquered the kingdom, 
which I nov/ resign to thee. It ought in future to be 
possessed by the first defender of the same, or by him 
who restoreth it to thee, in case it should ever be 
lost." Nor was this the only part of his royal fa- 
vour, for in the ensuing year, after the hnppy expul- 
sion of the French anarchists from his capital, he 
settled on his lordship, and his heirs for ever, an es- 
tate in the island of Sicily, valued at three thousand 
pounds annually, the possession of which conferred 
on him, as an annexed honour, the title of Duke of 
Bronte.* 

* The editor of a new edition of the British Peerage, having, 
on tlie suggestion of a learned friend, taken the liberty of writing 
to his lordship, then cruizing in the Mediterranean, transmitted 
him the following remark on the origin of his title. " When the 
king of the Two Sicilies conferred the additional tifle of Bronte 
upon that gallant lord, as a reward for the protection which his 
fleet afforded to his dominions, he, perhaps, was not aware of its 
appropriate meaning. It is the Greek word for thimder. The 
name of the individual Cyclops, who is represented in poetic fable 
as forging the thunder of Jupiter, was Bronte. His residence was 
of course at ^tna, in the island of Sicily." To this intimation 
his lordship, with his usual affability and attention, immediately 
returned the following polite answer : 

"Victory, at Sea, October 13, 1804. 
Sir, 

I am favoured with your letter of August 22d. Your obser- 
vation with regard to the dukedom of Brnnte in Sicily, I take to 
be perfectly just; and I cannot, therefore, have any objection to 
your making what use of it you think proper. 



126 MEMOIRS OF 

Such were the affectionate, and, in most instances, 
munificent testimonies which the potentates, the prin- 
ces, the corporate bodies, and the private individuals 
of different countries, from the frigid to the torrid 
zone, from the Caspian to the Atlantic, gratefully- 
offered to the worth of the noble admiral. 

Notwithstanding the naval power of the enemy- 
had received so fatal a blow, the presence of his 
lordship still continued indispensably necessary in 
those seas. The objects of his attention were mul- 
tifarious, but he found such sufficient resources in 
his own abilities that he was not under the necessity 
of neglecting any of them. The blockade of Malta, 
the protection of the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, 

** I will not fail sending the gazette to Rome by the first op-? 
portunity, and desiring you will believe me thankful for your 
kind wishes, I remain, 

<* Your most obedient humble servant, 

*' Nelson and Bronte. 
"Mr. J. Debrett." 

The paper alluded to in the gallant nobleman's letter was the 
Calcutta Gazette Extraordinary, of February 27, 1803, contain- 
ing the speech of the Marquis Wellesly in the college of Fort 
William in Bengal, on distributing the prize-medals and hono- 
rary rewards to those young gentlemen who had excelled in ori- 
ental learning. It was addressed to the very learned society of 
the De Propaganda Fide, at Rome, who have enriched the world 
with many valuable oriental works. 

The preceding correspondence would perhaps be uninteresting 
in the life of any other person ; but the case is materially diifer- 
ent with respect to so great a character as that of Lord Nelson. 
Indeed, in no instance whatever was affability ever shewn more 
strongly conjoined with other qualities to -complete the character 
of a great man. 



tORD NELSON. ISf 

and the prevention of any desultory mischief that 
could be effected by the remnant of the French force 
which had escaped from Aboukir, all in their turn 
demanded his diligence, as well as his activity ; so 
that were we to content ourselves with rapidly pas- 
sing over events great in themselves, though more 
quiescent than the tremendous scenes in which his 
lordship had before been engaged, we might in three 
lines briefly state, that no emergency was left unpro- 
vided for, no service neglected, and that no single 
event, in whicli either lord Nelson himself, or those 
under his orders, were concerned, proved unsuc- 
cessful. We cannot, however, persuade ourselves 
that such apparent haste should be tolerated. The 
blockade of Malta, and its dependencies, was confid- 
ed to Captain, now Sir Alexander Ball, and on the 
28th of October, the island of Goza having surren- 
dered, was taken possession of for his Sicilian ma- 
jesty. The foregoing was, however, only the fore- 
runner of more serious and important success. The 
armies of France had overrun nearly the whole of 
Italy, and the king of Naples was in the month of 
December reduced to the dire necessity of quitting 
his capital, and repairing on board the Vanguard as 
a place of refuge from his enemies. No time was 
however lost in forming the best arrangements pos- 
sible for making head against the rebels, and reinstat- 
ing the monarch on his throne. A project of such 
magnitude and importance, necessarily required a 
considerable space of time, ere the proper disposi- 
tions could be made for bringing it to perfection; 



128 MEMOIRS Of 

and tlie summer approached before his lordship was 
in a condition to undertake offensive measures. In 
the midst of his preparations, he was under the ne- 
cessity of being continually on his guard against the 
introduction of any succours, either into Italy, or 
Malta, by means of the few ships of v/ar whici. still 
remained to France in the Mediterranean. As the 
seas and coasts requiring his care were extensive, and 
the ships he commanded, far from numerous, the 
greater circumspection v/as necessary, but his dili- 
gence amply supplied the want of numbers. 

In the month of May, having been advanced to 
the rank of rear-admiral of the red, he shifted his 
flag on board the Foudroyant ; and during the tv.'o 
succeeding months, was unremittingly employed in 
the re- conquest of the Neapolitan territories, and the 
expulsion of the French hordes, not only from the 
southern parts of Italy, but the papal states also.* 

* The various leading events in which his lordship was con- 
cerned, and which he so happily brought to a glorious termina- 
tion, during this period of his service, cannot be more concisely 
or interestingly given, than by the insertion of the following 
official correspondence. 

Extract of a letter from Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson, K. B. to 
Evan Nepean, Esq. dated Bay of Naples, 27th of June. 

** I am happy in being able to congratulate their lordships on 
the possession of the city of Naples. St. Elmo is yet in the 
hands of the French ; but the castles of Ovo and Nuovo I took 
possession of last evening, and his Sicilian majesty's colours are 
now Bj'iTig on them." 

Extract of another letter from Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson, 
dated Bay of Naples, Hth of July. 

*' Herewith I have the honour of sending you copies of my 
letters to the commander in chief, and the capitulation gi-anted 



LORD NELSON. 129 

On his arrival at Naples, the prospect of public af- i|fc| 
fairs was as disastrous as it possibly could be ; the 

to the French in St. Elmo. All the chief rebels are now on 
board his majesty's fleet. Capua and Gaeta will very soon be 
in our possession, when the kingdom will be liberated from an- 
archy and misery. 

My Lord, "FoudroyantBay of Naples, 13th of July. 

** I have the pleasure to inform you of the surrender of Fort 
St. Elmo (on the terms of the enclosed capitulation) after open 
batteries of eight days, during which time our heavy batteries 
were advanced within one hundred and eighty yards of the ditch. 
The very great strength of St. Elmo, and its more formidable 
position, v/ill mark with what fortitude, perseverance, and acti- 
vity, the combined forces must have acted ; Captain Troubridge 
was the officer selected for the command of all the forces landed 
from the squadron ; Captain Ball assisted him for seven days, 
till his services were wanted at Malta, when his place was ably 
supplied by Captain Hallowell, an officer of the most distinguish- 
ed merit, and to whom Captain Troubridge expresses the highest 
obligation. Captain Hood, with a garrison for the castle of Nuo- 
vo, and to keep good order in the capital, an arduous task at 
that time, was also landed from the squadron ; and I have the 
pleasure to tell you, that no capital is more quiet than Naples. 
I transmit you Captain Troubridge's letter to me, with returns of 
tilled and wounded ; I have also to state to your lordship, that 
although the abilities and resources of my brave friend Trou- 
bridge are well known to all the world, yet even he had difficul- 
ties to struggle with in every way which the state of the capital 
will easily bring to your idea, that has raised his great character 
even higher than it was before. 

" lam, &c. "Nelson. 

« Right Hon. Lord Keith, 

" commander in chief," &c. 

" Foudroyant, Naples Bay, July 1 7tli. 
" My Lord, 

" His Sicilian majesty arrived in tliis Bay on the 10th, and 

18 



• 



130 MEMOIRS OF 

troops of France were in quiet possession of the cas- 
tle of St. Elmo, and all the other different fortresses 

immediately hoisted his standard on board the Foudroyant, 
where his majesty still remains with all his ministers. 
" I have the honour to be, 

"Nelson." 
Admiralty-office, Sept. 2, 1799. 
Dispatches, of which the following are copies, were this 
morning received by Mr. Nepean, from Rear-Admiral Lord 
Nelson, commanding his majesty's ships and vessels in the Me- 
diterranean. 

« Sir, " Foudroyant, Bay of Naples, August 1st. 

« I have the honour to transmit you copies of my letter to the 
commander in chief, with its several inclosures and most sincerely 
congratulate their lordships on the entire liberation of the 
kingdom of Naples from French robbers, for by no other 
name can they be called, for their conduct in this kingdom. 
This happy event will not, I am sure, be the less acceptable, 
from being principally brought about by part of the crews of his 
majesty's ships under my orders, under the command of Cap- 
tain Troubridge. His merits speak for themselves j his own 
modesty makes it my duty to state, that to him alone is the 
chief merit due. The commendation bestowed on the brave and 
excellent Captain Hallowell, will not escape their lordships' no- 
tice, any more than the exceeding good conduct of Captain Os- 
wald, Colonel Strickland, Captain Cresswell, to whom I ordered 
the temporary rank of major, and all the officers and men of 
the marine corps ; also the party of the artillery, and the officers 
and men landed from the Portuguese squadron. 

" I must not omit to state that Captain Hood, with a garrison 
of seamen in Castle Nuovo, has for these five weeks very much 
contributed to the peace of the capital ; and Naples, I am told, 
was never more quiet than under his directions. 

I send Captain Oswald, of the Perseus bomb, with this let- 
ter ; and have put Lieutenant Henry Compton (who has served 
with me since January 1796,) as a lieutenant, into the Perseus, 



LORD NELSON. 131 

which defended the city ; the cardinal RufFo had 
moreover ignominiously signed a disgraceful armis- 
tice and convention, not only with the French gene- 
ral, but also with the Neapolitan rebels. The terms 
of the treaty, however, which had been agreed to 
with the Prince Carracioli and others, who were the 
principal leaders of the revolution, Lord Nelson re- 
fused to accede to, and a motley, but spirited army, 
composed of English, Russians, Turks, Portuguese, 
and Italians, immediately commenced offensive ope- 
rations. Such was the activity of these confederated 
friends, such was the assistance rendered them by 
Lord Nelson, and the officers under his command, 

and beg leave to recommend these two officers as highly merit- 
ing promotion. 

" I have the honor to be, &c. 

«*Nelson." 
" My Lord, « Foudroyant, Bay of Naples, 1st August. 
*« I have the honor to transmit you a copy of Captain 
Troubridge's letter to me, and the capitulation of Capua and 
Gaeta, &c. Too much praise cannot be given to Captain 
Troubridge for his wonderful exertion in bringing about tliese 
happy events, and in so short a space of time ; Captain Hal- 
lowell has also the greatest merit ; Captain Oswald, whom I 
sencf to England with a copy of my letter, is an officer most 
highly deserving promotion. I have put Lieutenant Compton, 
who has served as a lieutenant with me from January 1796, in 
the Perseus bomb, in his room, and whom I recommend to your 
lordship. 

** I sincerely congratulate your lordship on the entire liberation 
of the kingdom of Naples from a band of robbers, and am, witl^ 
the greatest respect, &c. *< Nelson, 

« Right Hon. Lord Keith, com- 
" mander in chief," &c. 







132 MEMOIRS OF 

that on the 12th of July, the batteries of the besieg- 
ers being then ready to open ; the guns of St. Elmo, 
which was the last fort that resisted, nearly all dis- 
mounted, and the defences very much damaged ; 
the garrison proposed to capitulate, on condition of 
laying down their arms, embarking for France, and 
submitting to be prisoners of war on their parole, 
until they were regularly exchanged. Foreseeing 
the event, his Sicilian majesty, in compliance with 
his lordship's wishes, quitted Palermo, and arrived 
off Naples two days before the surrender took place. 
On the 13th, having hoisted his standard on board 
the Foudroyant, in the bay of Naples, he had again 
the satisfaction of beholding his metropolis reverted 
back to the dominion of its lawful sovereign. On this 
occasion he justly and affectionatel}^ complimented 
Lord Nelson, by saying, " that he had re-conquered 
his kingdom for him, and placed him once more on 
the throne of his ancestors." 

Although much had already been done, the af- 
fairs of the Neapolitan kingdom required a continu- 
ance of exertions to place them in a state of perma- 
nent tranquility ; Capua and Gaeta, which still re- 
mained in the possession of France, were as yet to be 
reduced ; they were attacked ; attack and conquest 
became almost synonimous terms. The garrison of 
Capua surrendered as prisoners of war, but to that 
of Gaeta the more favourable terms were allowed, in 
consequence of the fortress being only blockaded, 
and not besieged that its defenders should be at 
perfect liberty from the hour they were landed in 
France. In both these capitulations, the true spirit 



LORD NELSON. 133 

of French friendship, and the extreme danger of ac- 
cepting it, were displayed in the strongest colours. 
The rebellious Neapolitans, who had most traito- 
rously and unwisely joined the enemies of their coun- 
try, and constituted the head of what was called the 
revolutionary party, were abandoned to their fate ; 
and the miseries which the country had undergone, 
were in some degree atoned by the execution of the 
principal leaders, under a sentence regularly passed 
on them by the court constituted to take cognizance 
of their offences. 

The tranquility of the Neapolitan kingdom being 
thus re-established, Lord Nelson extended his views 
to the further removal of those very troublesome 
sojourners, the French, even to the remotest part of 
northern Italy. Civita Vecchia was blockaded by- 
commodore Troubridge, and the French general 
Grenier, consented to evacuate Rome, and all the 
papal territories ; thus was a prophecy, said to have 
been made in respect to Lord Nelson, on his arrival 
at Naples, completely verified: " That lie ixjould 
lake Rome by his ships." We must here insert, as 
one of the most curious indices of his mind, a pri- 
vate letter written by him, to his much esteemed 
friend, lieutenant-governor Locker, in the very mid- 
dle of that hurry which the very important service he 
was engaged in must have occasioned in his mind. 
We have already expressed our opinion as to the 
interest due to documents of this nature, and believe 
there are very few persons who will cherish an idea 
contrary to our own. 

The present certainly displays sentiments of phi- 



134 MEMOIRS OF 

lanthropy, strength of judgment, and every requisite 
of mind necessary to form the friend, the statesman, 
and the hero, in such glowing and delightful colours, 
that it would be committing a species of sacrilege to 
his memory, to tear it from public view. 

Palermo, Feb. 9th, 1799. 
"My Dear Friend, 

" I well know your goodness of heart will make all due allow- 
ances for my present situation, in which truly I have not the 
time, or power to answer all the letters I receive at the moment ; 
but you, my old friend, after twenty-seven years acquaintance, 
know that nothing can alter my attachment and gratitude to you. 
I have been your scholar. It was you who taught me to board 
a Frenchman, by your conduct when in the Experiment. It is 
you who always hold, " lay a Frenchman close and you will 
beat him ;" and my only merit in my profession is being a good 
scholar. Our friendship will never end but wiih my life, but you 
have always been too partial to me. 

" Pray tell Kingsmill, that it was impossible I could attend to 
his recommendation ; indeed I had, not being a commander in 
chief, no power to name an agent ; remember me kindly to 
him. 

*' The Vesuvian republic being fixed, I have now to look out 
for Sicily ; but revolutionary principles are so prevalent in the 
world, that no monarchial government is safe, or sure of lasting 
ten years. 

"I beg you will make my kindest remembrances to Miss Lock- 
er and all your good sons, believe me ever your faithful and af- 
fectionate friend. "Nelson. 

" Lieutenant Governor Locker, Royal 
*« Hospital, Greenwich." 

It was in consequence of the signal services ren- 
dered by his lordship to his Neapolitan majesty, that 
not long after the restoration of the ancient order of 



LORD NELSON. 135 

tilings in the city of Naples, that monarch presented 
him with the valuable gifts already mentioned, and 
also conferred on him the title of Duke of Bronte ; 
with the several advantages of domain and revenue 
attached thereto. The Neapolitan standard was 
still displayed on board the Foudroyant, and after 
continuing nearly five w-eeks on board that ship, his 
majesty returned back with his lordship to Palermo, 
which city he reached on the 9th of August. His 
arrival converted in an instant despondency into gai- 
ety, as though he had carried, in his hand, the ma- 
gic wand of pleasure. The inhabitants, and the 
court of Sicily itself, appeared to have forgotten the 
horrors of war, which, though somewhat removed, 
still raged furiously round them, as if all apprehen- 
sion of danger was completely extinguished by the 
mere presence of their tutelary friend and guardian. 
" The court of Palermo," observes a private letter, 
written at this time, " is now the chosen seat of royal 
gaiety ; and nothing can be more brilliant than the 
fetes which have been given to the hero of the Nile, 
particularly a/^?^ champetre in the royal gardens, by 
their majesties. A temple of glory was erected in 
the gardens, on which were placed three figures as 
large and as natural as life, modelled in wax ; the 
centre figure represented Baron Nelson of the Nile, 
Duke of Bronte in Sicily, dressed in a full British 
uniform ; on the brows of the figure of the noble 
admiral was placed a wreath of laurel, which his 
majesty with his own hand took from the waxen 
figure, and placed on the head of the real hero, 
who wore it through the whole of the entertainment. 



136 MEMOIRS OF 

which was very superb. Egyptian pyramids were 
placed around the temples, on which were inscribed 
the names of the most distinguished heroes of the 
war, English, Neapolitan, Russian, and Turkish ; 
while on the zunick, or robe of fame, were embroi- 
dered the names of those heroes in particular who 
fou2:ht in the battle of the Nile. The music was su- 
perb ; and all the opera band, with Senesino at their 
head, sung " Rule Britannia," and " God save the 
King," in which they were chorussed by the whole 
assembly, who had been previously drilled to the 
English pronunciation. ' ' 

To that, of which the account has just been given, 
may be added a second, scarcely inferior in brillian- 
cy ; according to court etiquette, the pretended host 
and author of the fete was the Prince Leopold, a 
youth of nine years of age, who had then just enter- 
ed on a course of nautical education, being intended 
for the sea service. Their majesties, with the nobi- 
lity, the admirals, and chief officers of the English, 
Russian, and Turkish squadrons, then in the port, 
were all present ; and the royal youth, appropriately 
dressed as a subordinate naval officer, officiated on 
the occasion as master of the ceremonies. Among 
other splendid parts of the entertainment, was exhi- 
bited a most magnificent fire-work, representing the 
engagement off Aboukir, and concluding with the 
explosion of L' Orient. To repeat the variety of 
compliments offi^red his lordship on this, and similar 
occasions, would become less interesting, because 
the desert which procured them has never been 
doubted ; certain it is, that in this instance at least, 



LORD NELSON. I37 

the varied honours so liberally, yet not too profusely 
shewn to this great man, could not render the Nea- 
politan court subject to that charge of flattery which 
has been so often considered one of the vices of for- 
eign countries. The people, from the prince to the 
peasant, were grateful enough to pay proper adora- 
tion to their preserver, and compliment, or adulation 
were completely out of the question. 

The tribute paid to his lordship was not confined 
to the territories of the two Sicilies ; Rome herself 
felt the services he had rendered her, and joined 
most heartily in displaying her warmest tokens of 
esteem and veneration. The arrival of the British 
ships under commodore Troubridge at the mouth 
of the Tiber, had fortunately prevented, for that 
time the removal to France, of all the rare works of 
art, as well of painting as of sculpture, together 
with the most valuable remnants of antiquity which 
she possessed, all which, the rapacious hands of the 
French banditti had, according to their wonted cus- 
tom, most violently seized, and were engaged in the 
absolute act of causing to be transported to their 
own country. 

So critical an escape failed not to make a most 
sincere and lasting impression on the minds of the 
people, and on the government itself ; and it was 
immediately resolved to erect a superb monument to 
their deliverer in one of the most conspicuous parts 
of the city. His lordship being informed of the 
determination, returned the following very polite an- 
swer to the proposal. 

19 



138 MEMOIRS OF 

« Palermo, Dec. 19, 1799. 
« Dear Sir, 
*♦ Sir William Hamilton has been so kind as to communicate 
to me the distinguished honour intended me by the inhabitants, 
by you, and other professors and admirers of the fine arts at Rome, 
to erect a monument. I have not words sufBcient to express my 
feelings on hearing that my actions have contributed to preserve 
the works which form the school of fine arts in Italy, which the 
modern Goths wanted to carry off and destroy. 

*' That they may always remain in tlie only place worthy of 
them, Rome, are and will be my fervent wishes, together with 
the esteem of, 

« Dear Sir, 

" Your most obliged servant, 

" Bronte and Nelson." 

The distressed state of the Maltese garrison caus= 
ed, at this time, every possible exertion to be made 
by France for its relief. Every ship that she was 
possessed of in those seas was equipped in the hope 
of effecting this grand desideratum of service. The 
greater part of them fell victims to their temerity, 
and it must have proved the greatest satisfaction, 
while at the same time it appeared one of the most 
singular coincidences of circumstances that ever took 
place, that the only two ships of the line, which had 
made their escape after the encounter at Aboukir, 
fell afterwards into the hands of Lord Nelson, or of 
officers employed under his orders. The first of 
these was* the Genereux, commanded by admiral 

* The vigilance of the British anticipated the intention of 
France, of attempting to throw succours into La Valette ; Lord 
Keith, who then commanded In chief in the Mediterranean, di- 
rected Lord Nelson to keep a strict look-out to windward of the 
island, with the ships under his orders, while he himself kept 



LORD NELSON. 159 

Perree, captured in the month of February, without 
contest. The second the Guilliaume Tell, of eighty 
gunsjf taken on the 29th of March following, by the 

close in with the mouth of the harbour, in the Queen Charlotte, 
and several frigates or smaller vessels, so that he might ulti- 
mately intercept the enemy, should they be even fortunate enough 
to elude the vigilance of Lord Nelson. The latter, however, 
proved successful. 

The capture of the Genereux must have been additionally 
grateful to his lordship, from the circumstance of her having ta- 
ken the Leander, one of the ships which so gallantly fought un- 
der his orders, being then commanded by Captain Thompson, at 
the battle of Aboukir. That ship was afterwards very handsomely 
restored to Britain by the Emperor of Russia, into whose posses- 
sion she fell by the surrender of Corfu, where she had been left 
by her captor. The particulars of the action will be found in the 
biographical sketch given of the life of Sir Thomas Boulden 
Thompson. 

f This ship was the last remaining of the Toulon armament, 
and at the battle of Aboukir bore the flag of vice-admiral Ville-- 
neuve, the third in command. Although his lordship was not 
personally concerned in the action, the circumstances attending 
it win be found sufficiently interesting to warrant the insertion of 
Captain Dixon 's account. 

** Lion, at Sea, off Cape Passaro, 
«' Sir, «31st March, 1800. 

** I have the honor to inform you, that yesterday morning, at 
nine o'clock, Cape Passaro bearing N. half E. distant seven 
leagues, the Fench ship of war Le Guilliaume Tell, of eighty- 
six guns, and one thousand men, bearing the flag of Contre Ad- 
miral Decres, surrendered, after a most gallant and obstinate de- 
fence of three hours and a half, to his majesty's ships Foudro- 
yant, Lion, and Penelope. 

" To declare the particulars of this very important capture, I 
have to infom you, that the signal rockets and cannonading from 
our batteries at Malta, the midnight preceding, with the favoura» 



140 MEMOIRS OF 

Foudroyant, his lordship's flag-ship, having at the 
same time the Lion and Penelope in company. His 

ble strong southerly gale, together with the darkness which suc- 
ceeded the setting of the moon, convinced me the enemy's ships 
of war were attempting to effect an escape, and which was imme- 
diately ascertained by that judicious and truly valuable officer, 
Captain Blackwood, of the Penelope, who had been stationed a 
few hours before between the Lion and Valette, for the purpose 
of observing closely the motions of the enemy. Nearly at mid- 
night, an enemy's ship was descried by him, when the Minorca 
was sent to inform me of it, giving chase himself, apprising me 
by signal that the strange ships seen were hauled to the wind on 
the starboard tack. I lost not one moment for making the signal 
for the squadron to cut, or slip, and directed Captain Miller of the 
Minorca, to run down to the Foudroyant and Alexander with the 
intelligence ; and to repeat the signal. Under a press of canvas, 
I chased until five A. M. solely guided by the cannonading of the 
Penelope ; and, as a direction to the squadron, a rocket and blue 
light were shewn every half hour from the Lion. As the day broke, 
I found myself within gun-shot of the chase, and the Penelope 
within musket shot raking her ; the effects of whose well direct- 
ed fire during the night had shot away the main and mizen top- 
masts and main-yard. The enemy appeared in great confusion, 
being reduced to his head sails, going wjth the wind on the quar- 
ter. The Lion was run close along side, the yard-arms of both 
ships being j ust clear, when a destructive broadside of three round 
shot in each gun was poured in, luffing up across the bow, when 
the enemy's jib-boom passed between the mainandmizen shrouds. 
After a short interval, I had the pleasure to see the boom carried 
away, and the ships disentangled, maintaining a position across 
the bow, firing to great advantage. I was not the least solicitous 
either to board, or to be boarded, as the enemy appeared of im- 
mense bulk, and full of men, keeping up a prodigious fire of mus- 
ketry, which, with the bow chasers, she could for a long time only 
use, 1 found it absolutely necessary, if possible, to keep from the 
broadside of this ship. After being engaged about forty minutes, 



LORD NELSON. 141 

lordship, however, being at the time of the capture 
out of health, was not on board. The same cause 

the Foudroyaut v/as seen under a press of canvass, and soon pas- 
sed, hailing the enemy to strike, which being declined, a very 
heavy fire from both ships, broadside to broadside, was most gal- 
lantly maintained ; the Lion and Penelope frequently in situations 
to do great execution. In short, sir, after an action, the hottest 
that probably was ever maintained by an enemy's ship, opposed 
to those of his majesty, and being totally dismasted, the French 
admiral's flag and colours were struck. I have not language to 
express the high sense of obligation I feel myself under to Cap- 
tain Blackwood for his prompt and able conduct in leading the 
line of battle ships to the enemy ; for the gallantry and spirit so 
highly conspicuous in him, and for his admirable management of 
the frigate. To your discriminating judgment it is unnecessary 
to remark of what real value and importance, such an officer must 
ever be considered to his majesty's service. The termination of 
the battle must be attributed to the spirited fire of the Foudroy - 
ant, whose captain, Sir Edward Berry, has justly added another 
laurel, to the many he has gained during tlie war. Captain 
Blackwood speaks in very high terms of the active and gallant 
conduct of Captain Long, of the Vincejo, during the night. And 
I beg to mention the services of Captains Broughton and Miller. 
The crippled condition of the Lion and Foudroyant made It neces- 
sary for me to direct Captain Blackwood to take possession of the 
enemy, take him In tow, and proceed to Syracuse. 

**I received the greatest possible assistance from Lieutenant Jo- 
seph Paty, senior officer of the Lion, and from Mr. Spence, the 
master, who, together with the other officers and ship's compa- 
ny shewed the most determined gallantry. Captains Sir Ed- 
ward Berry and Blackwood, have reported to me the same gallant 
and animated behaviour, in the officers and crews of their respec- 
tive ships. I am sorry to say, that the three ships have suffered 
much from killed and wounded ; and that the loss of the enemy 
is prodigious, being upwards of two hundred. I refer you to the 



142 MEMOIRS OF 

which had prevented his being personally concerned 
in the encounter just mentioned, still continuing to 
operate against his assuming the active function of 
a naval commander, he was under the necessity of 
striking his flag, and proceeding to Trieste, from 
whence he passed to Hamburgh, The attentions, 
the respect, and the honours he received in all the 
principal cities he passed through while on his jour- 
ney, were unprecedented, perhaps, but certainly 
not unexpected, or unmerited : they proved only 
that the inhabitants of other countries than Britain, 
appreciated his merit equally with those of his own, 
and that partiality was totally unconcerned in the 
adoration paid him by the latter. 

Notwithstanding his lordship had landed at Trieste 
in the month of June, so weak was the condition of 
his health, that, added to the delays he unavoidably 
met with in his route, die month of October arrived 
ere he reached Hamburgh. The Queen of Naples 
herself accompanied him so far as Vienna, as though 
unwilling to quit, till the last moment, the society 
of the man to whom she probably owed her exist- 
ence, and to a certainty, the rank of sovereign, 
which she then held. On the eve of their quitting 
Palermo, her majesty presented his lordship with a 

inclosed reports for further particulars, as to the state of his ma- 
jesty's ships, and have the honor to remain, Sir, &c. &c. 

"Manley Dixon. 
*' P. S. The Guilliaume Tell is of the largest dimensions, and 
carries thirty-six pounders on the lower gun deck, twenty-four 
pounders on tlie main-deck, twelve pounders on the quarter-deck, 
^nd thirty-two carronades on the poop." 



LORD NELSON. 143 

picture of the king, having on the reverse the ini- 
tials of her own name, the whole richly set with dia- 
monds. 

The attention paid to his lordship on his arrival at 
Vienna, by the most exalted personages at the im- 
perial court, had rarely been exceeded by that shewn 
to any visitor whatsoever. The emperor received 
him as a prince ; at Prague, that ever to be revered 
character, the Archduke Charles, treated him as his 
equal ; and the senate of Hamburgh seemed to con- 
sider him as a person of superior order to themselves. 
In short, greater honours could not have been paid to 
him, though to have paid him less, would have been 
ingratitude. As to his reception in England, we shall 
content ourselves with repeating the unadorned ac- 
count given of it, in the different journals and peri- 
odical publications of the day, remarking, that what- 
ever a narrative so quoted may be deficient in what 
is called literary elegance, that defect is, almost in- 
variably, fully compensated for by its truth and pre- 
cision. 

" His lordship landed at Yarmouth on the 6th of 
November, after an absence of three years. The 
instant he stepped on shore, the populace assembled 
in crowds to greet the gallant hero of the Nile, and 
taking the horses from his carriage, drew him to 
the Wrestlers Inn. The mayor and corporation 
immediately waited on his lordship, and presented 
him with the freedom of the town, which had been 
already voted to him for his eminent services. The 
inflmtry in the town paraded before the inn where 
he lodged, with their regimental band, paying every 



lU MEMOIRS OF 

military honour, and firing feux de joy of musquet- 
ry and ordnance till midnight. The corporation in 
procession, with a number of respectable officers of 
the navy, attended his lordship to church, to join in 
thanksgiving with him. All the ships in the har- 
bour hoisted their colours, and every honour was paid 
him by the admiral of the fleet, Dickson, who en- 
deavoured to evince, by every means in his power, 
his respect for him,f 

" On leaving the town, the corps of cavalry un- 
expectedly drew up, saluted, and followed the car- 
riage, not only to the town's end, but to the boun- 
dary of the county. On the 8th his lordship arrived 
in London, and alighted at Nerot's Hotel, King 
street, St. James's. The noble peer, who was dress- 
ed in full uniform, with three stars on his breast, and 
two gold medals, was welcomed by repeated huzzas 
from the crowd, which the illustrious personage re- 
turned with a low bow. In his way to town, he stop- 
ped at the house of his father, who however had left 
it on the Friday for London, and the first interview 
between them, together with lady Nelson, was in the 
hall of Ncrot's Hotel. 

" On the 9th, being Lord Mayor's day, his lord- 
ship was invited to the civic feast, and joined the 
cavalcade in its way to Guildhall. When the pro- 
cession reached the top of Ludgate hill, the mob 
took the horses from his carriage, and drew him to 
Guildhall, amidst repeated huzzas. All the way 
he passed along Cheapside, he was greeted by the 
ladies from the windows with their handkerchiefs, 
and the loudest acclamations. At six o'clock the 



LORD NELSON. 145 

fcompany sat down to a very sumptuous dinner. 
After the usual toasts had gone round, a very elegant 
feword, richly ornamented, the handle gold, with blue 
enamel, studded with diamonds, the guard support- 
ed with anchors, and the figure of a crocodile^ as 
emblematical of the grand event, which had been 
voted to his lordship by the corporation, after the 
battle of Aboukir, was presented to him, with the 
following appropriate address, made by Mr. Clarke, 
the chamberlain of the city. 
*' Lord Nelson, 

''In cheerful obedience to an unanimous reso- 
lution of the Right Honourable, the Lord Mayor, 
aldermen, and commons of the city of London, in 
common council assembled, I present your lordship 
xvith the thanks of the court, for the very important 
victory obtained by a squadron of his majesty's ships 
under your command, over a superior French fleet, 
off the mouth of the Nile, on the 1st of August, 
1798 : a victory splendid and decisive ; unexampled 
in naval history, and reflecting the highest honour 
on the courage and abilities of your lordship, and 
your officers, and the discipline and irresistible 
bravery of British seamen ; and which must be pro- 
ductive of the greatest advantages to this country, 
and to every part of the civilized world, by tending 
to frustrate the designs of our implacable enemy, 
and by rousing other nations to unite and resist their 
unprincipled ambition. 

" As a farther testimony of the high esteem which 
the court entertains of your lordship's public ser- 
vices and of the eminent advantages which you have 

20 



146 MEMOIRS OF 

rendered your country, I have the honour to present 
your lordship this sword. 

*' The consequences of the action 1 am thus called 
upon to applaud, are perhaps unequalled in the his- 
tory of mankind. A numerous army, which had 
triumphed in Europe over brave and veteran troops 
commanded by officers of the most established repu- 
tation, landed in Egypt, under the command of him, 
who now sways the Gallic sceptre, with designs of 
the most ambitious and extensive nature. One of 
their objects, as acknowledged by themselves, was 
to annihilate by degrees the English East India trade, 
and finally to get into their possession the whole com- 
merce of Africa and Asia. Such were the gigantic 
views of our implacable foe ; and such confidence 
had they in the fleet which conveyed them, and in 
the station it took on the coast of the devoted coun- 
try, that it bade defiance to the whole navy of Bri- 
tain ; but at this momentous period, the Almighty 
directed your lordship as his chosen instrument to 
check their pride, and crush their force as a maritime 
power, during the present contest. The circum- 
stances attending this grand display of providential 
interposition and British prowess, must interest the 
feelings of every Englishman. Had a space been 
chosen to exhibit to the world a struggle for superi- 
ority in nautical skill and personal valour, between 
the two greatest naval powers of the globe, none 
could have been more happily selected. The three 
grand divisions of the ancient world were witnesses ; 
and the shores which had beheld the destruction of 
the Persian navy by the Greeks, and the heroic acts 



LORD NELSON. 147 

of Sesostris, now resounded with the echo of British 
thunder. To your lordship belongs the praise of 
having added glory to such a scene : the heroes we 
applaud, would themselves have applauded us : and 
he, who ages since led his three hundred against an 
almost countless host, might on that proud day have 
wished himself a Briton. 

"The thanks of your country, my lord, attend 
you ; its honours await you ; but a higher praise than 
even these imply, is yours. In the moment of unex- 
ampled victory, you saved your country — in the next 
moment you did still more — you exemplified that 
virtue, which the heathen world could not emulate ; 
and in the pious non nobis Domine ! of your modest 
dispatches, you enforced a most important truth — 
that the most independent conqueror felt, in the most 
intoxicating point of time, the influence and protec- 
tion of him, whpm our enemies, to their shame and 
ruin, had foolishly and impiously defied. May that 
same power, my Lord, ever protect and reward you ; 
may it long, very long, spare to this empire so illustri- 
ous a teacher, and so potent a champion." 

To this speech the noble lord made the following 
short, but impressive reply : 
Sir, 

"It is with the greatest pride and satisfaction I re. 
ceive from the honourable court this testimony of 
their approbation of my conduct ; and with this 'oery 
sword (holding it up in his left and remaining hand) 
I hope soon to aid in reducing our implacable and in- 
veterate enemy to proper and due limits, without 
which this country can neither hope for, nor expect 



148 MEMOIRS OF 

a solid, honourable, and permanent peace." — Nav. 
Chron. Vol. 4. p. 429. 

Although these instances just recited, as being 
the honours paid him by a public body, claim pre- 
cedence, yet they were at least equalled by those 
which he experienced from individuals of all ranks. 
Popularity certainly was never more justly, or more 
honestly acquired. 

It might now have been expected by his country- 
men, and all the rest of the world, that his lordship 
should have retired from the fatigues of public duty, 
for a short time at least. The services in which he 
had been engaged, had enervated his body indeed, 
but produced no effect on his mind. The necessities 
of his country appeared to require his presence and 
assistance, and his pulse beat too high with the true 
energetic feelings of a firm and honest patriot to al- 
low his passing into retired or private life, while the 
flags of the enemies to his country flouted as it were 
in defiance of her. He was raised to the rank of 
Vice- Admiral of the Blue, on the first of January, 
1801, it being at first intended he should have com- 
manded a (division of the main, or channel fleet, and 
the S:m Josef of one hundred and twelve guns, one 
of the prizes taken by himself in the action off" Cape 
St. Vincent, was purposely fitted to receive his flag. 

This arrangement had, however, scarcely been 
made, ere the political situation of public affairs ren- 
dered it necessary that it should be altered. The fu- 
rious insanity of die emperor of all the Russias, cap- 
tious without offencC) and violent almost beyond pre- 
cedent, in his attempt to revenge an imaginary in- 



LORD NELSON. U9 

suit, contrived to prevail on the northern powers of 
Sweden and Denmark to enter into his views, and 
to oppose as it were, a menacing front to Great-Bri- 
tain. It must, however, have been apparent to the 
most shallow sighted politician, that even though 
such conduct had been successful to the summit of 
their wishes, in producing any effect on the British 
councils, and their measures ; such an interference 
would at least have been unwise, to apply no harsher 
term to it. 

The emperor of the Russias might indeed be al- 
most said to stand single in the dispute, for his allieg^ 
possessed hearts by no means inimical to the inte- 
rests of Britain and their own : but cajoled by the 
promises, or terrified by the threats, of the former, 
whose fury, from his proximity to them, they were 
compelled to dread, they entered into the war with a 
sang f raid smicd to the occasion. They appeared as 
wishing only to preserve their national character from 
the imputation of pusillanimity, should they attend 
to the remonstrance of the British court, rather than 
any real hope they entertained, of being able to re- 
sist its resolves with effect. 

The principles of the confederacy, had Britain 
quietly permitted them to be acted upon, would not 
only have distressed, but humiliated her in the opinion 
of the world : though assailed at the same time by the 
maritime force of all the rest of Europe, she felt her 
dignity required the utmost exertion, and that the 
confederacy, the professed object of which was to 
check and prescribe bounds to her naval power, must 
be broken, or that she must inevitably fall from the 



150 MEMOIRS OF 

pre-eminent height she had then reached, into the or, 
dinary rank held by other nations and countries. It 
was not a case of desperation but of necessity ; and 
the worst of national evils might have resulted from 
the want of success. A powerful fleet was according- 
ly assembled, and placed under the orders of Sir 
Hyde Parker ; Lord Nelson was appointed second 
in command, and hoisted his flag on board the St. 
George, a second rate, of ninety-eight guns. The 
force of the armament consisted of eighteen ships of 
the line, four frigates, a number of bomb ketches and 
gun vessels, amounting in the whole to fifty-two sail. 
The fleet, however, received an unfortunate reduc- 
tion from the loss of the Invincible of seventy-four 
guns, which struck on a shoal off Winterton. The 
remaining ships and vessels which sailed from Yar- 
mouth on the 12th of March, arrived in safety at the 
place of their destination. 

While these vigorous measures were pursued on 
the part of Britain, Denmark, as the country almost 
certain of being the first to experience aggression 
and attack, had taken every precaution prudence and 
firmness could suggest, to parry it. The most ac- 
tive preparations pervaded her ports ; the king of 
Sweden, on his part, was on the alert, and had not 
only inspected all his fortresses bordering on the coast 
in person, but held an actual conference with the 
crown prince of Denmark, for the sole purpose of 
concerting the means of mutual defence. 

Distressing in the extreme must it have been to 
both these potentates, when they found themselves 
involuntarily engaged in a dispute, from which they 



LORD NELSON. 151 

could not with honour recede. The object which 
obviously presented itself to the first notice of the 
confederated courts, was the defence of the passage 
through the sound ; it was protected on the Swedish 
side by the fort of Helsingberg, and on that of Den- 
mark by the castle of Cronenberg, each of them were 
garrisoned sufficiently to withstand an attack ; and 
in addition to that formidable opposition which they 
threatened, numerous strong batteries were erected 
on the Danish shore, through the fire of which, it 
was considered impossible a hostile fleet could pass 
with impunity. For the security of Copenhagen, the 
fortresses, in existence were considered competent ; 
the different batteries which had already been erect- 
ed for its defence, were in the most perfect state ; 
the troops appointed to man them were numerous and 
well disciplined. Added to which, every precaution 
and terrific aid, that modern science and invention 
could suggest, had been used, to render resistance 
completely successful. 

Although Britain felt herself, in defiance of every 
opposition that could be made against her, totally at 
ease, as to the event of the contest, yet honourffce 
and philanthropic motives imperiously demanded that 
all the regular means of political negociation and ex- 
planation, should be employed, ere the sword of war 
was actually drawn. The Danish nation had been 
regarded for centuries with a species of brotherly 
love ; the friendship between the countries was mu- 
tual, and nothing but the hard necessity of political 
intrigue, appeared capable of breaking the long cstab- 
lished amity. 



152 MEMOIRS OF 

There are instances however, where no explana-- 
tion can possibly settle a dispute, whether it be na- 
tional, or even of a private nature between two indi-^ 
viduals, without recourse to that most dreadful of all 
settlements, violence and actual warfare. 

Such was the political situation of public affairs 
between t|ie two countries in the present instance : 
Great Britain prepared to attack Denmark, the latter 
country was firm in her defence. 

It will be necessary in this place to take a short 
(ll view of the strength opposed to Great Britain by the 
northern confederacy, though perhaps the ostenta- 
tious pride of an Englishman may be discovered in 
the act. Opposed as the navy of Britain v»'as by all 
the southern maritime powers of Europe, it certainly 
displayed her magnanimous spirit, to give her cha- 
racter the most quiet of all names, that slie should, 
environed as she was with foes, provoke, as it w'ere, 
the encounter with new enemies. The navy of Den- 
mark consisted of twenty- three ships of the line, not 
perhaps in the best condition for remote service, bat 
certainly capable of action for home defence, with 
the trivial exception of one or two only. Exclu- 
sive of these, she possessed upwards of thirty fri- 
gates and smaller vessels, independent of guard- 
ships. The navy of Sweden was not inferior in 
numbers, but far superior in point of equipment. 
Her navy consisted of eighteen ships of the line, 
fourteen frigates, sloops and other vessels of war, 
together with seventy-four gallies, and smaller ves- 
sels, exclusive of gun-boats. The marine of Russia 
doubled the amount of both ; it comprized eighty- 



LORD NELSON. I53 

two sail of the line, together with forty frigates, and 
a considerable number of smaller vessels ; several 
ships of the line, hoAvever, were unfit for service. 
Of the force now stated, there were at Constadt, Re- 
vel, Petersburgh, and Archangel, forty-seven sail of 
the line, but the whole of the Russian -fleet was badly 
manned and officered. Notwithstanding Russia pro- 
duces^every species of naval stores, the greatest part 
of the ships were in a very indifferent state of equip- 
ment. 

Notvvithstanding this important advantage, it was 
evident to eveiy political observer, that the aggregate 
force of the northern confederacy would obtain an 
height extremely formidable, if not injurious to Bri- 
tain, provided the armaments belonging to the dif- 
ferent countries could be once brought to act in uni- 
son and concert with each other ; but the difficulty 
of effecting that measure, the experience of all pre- 
ceding ages, and the example of all former confede- 
racies, very few of which succeeded in their projects, 
have fully proved. 

Although the British nation appears to have rous- 
ed her strongest energies, for the purpose of break- 
ing by force of arms that league which threatened 
to become so extremely dangerous to her, she still 
remained unwilling to draw the sword of war, while 
the smallest likelihood appeared to exist, that it 
could be permitted to remain peaceably and tranquil- 
ly within its scabbard. Mr. Vansittart, properly in- 
vested w ilh a diplomatic character, preceded the ar- 
rival of the British fleet, and having reached Elsi- 
neur on board a frigate, bearing a flag of truce, on 

21 



154 MEMOIRS OF 

the 20th of March, a conference was immediately 
held by that gentleman, in conjunction with Mr. 
Drummond, the British minister at Copenhagen, 
with the Danish court. The demands on the part of 
Britain, were the secession of Denmark from the 
northern alliance ; the allowance of a free passage 
through the Sound to the British fleet, and an aban- 
donment of the system of sending, in future, con- 
voys for the protection of Danish merchant vessels. 
These proposals being rejected without hesitation, 
the British plenipotentiaries received passports for 
their return. 

Such, however, was the existing force of that so 
long continued national connection, w^hich subsisted 
between the people of England and of Denmark, 
that although the government of both countries ap- 
peared at variance with each other, the people them- 
selves seemed unwilling to become parties in the 
quarrel. Notwithstanding a positive order was offi- 
cially issued in Copenhagen, for all persons in that 
city, and throughout the Danish dominions, who 
owed allegiance to the British government, to with- 
draw, very few felt themselves so far interested in 
the order, as to obey it ; and in justice be it said, in 
no instance whatever was it known, that either the 
freedom of the person, or the safety of the property 
was in the smallest degree violated. 

It now appeared fixed beyond revocation, that the 
dernier resort, the appeal to arms, was resolved on ; 
so the event proved ; and the British fleet, during 
the night between the 22d and 23d of March, sailed 
from Anholt to Gilleleve, on the northern coast of 



LORD NELSON. 155 

2^ealand, where it came to anchor : even in this cri- 
tical posture of affairs, Britain appeared willing, to 
the latest moment, to avoid encountering the mise- 
ries of war. On the 27th of March, Sir Hyde Par- 
ker, acting under the instructions he had received, 
and watching most correctly to ascertain the inten- 
tion of Denmark, as to her future hostile or pacific 
conduct, dispatched a flag of truce to the governor 
of Cronenberg castle, with the following note : 

*' From the hostile transactions of the court of 
Denmark, and sending away his Britannic majesty's 
charge d'affaires, the commander in chief of his ma- 
jesty's fleet is anxious to know what the determina- 
tion of the Danish court is, and whether the com- 
manding officer of Cronenberg castle has received 
orders to fire on the British fleet as they pass up the 
Sound, as he must deem the firing of the first gun a 
declaration of war, on the part of Denmark, 

(Signed) Hyde Parker.'* 

To this the subjoined answer was returned : 

*' I have the honour to inform your excellency, 
that his majesty the king of Denmark did not send 
away the charge d'affaires, but that on his own de- 
mand he obtained a passport. As a soldier I cannot 
meddle with politics ; but I am not at liberty to suf- 
fer a fleet, whose intention is not yet known, to ap- 
proach the guns of the castle, which I have the ho- 
nour to command. In case your excellency should 
think proper to make proposals to the king of Den- 
mark, I wish to be informed thereof, before the fleet 
approaches nearer to the castle. 

(Signed) "Heer Strick^Ro 



156 MEMOIRS OF 

On the receipt of this note the British comman- 
der in chief immediately again addressed the gover- 
nor. 

*' Finding the intentions of the com't of Denmark 
to be hostile against his Britannic majesty, he regard- 
ed his excellency's answer as a declaration of war, 
and, therefore, agreeable to his instructions, could 
no longer refrain from hostilities, however reluctant 
it might be to his feelings. But, at the same time, 
the admiral would be ready to attend to any propo- 
sals of the court of Denmark, for restoring the former 
amity and friendship, which had so many years sub- 
sisted between the two courts. 

On the 30th of March, the wind having become 
favourable, the British fleet passed the Sound, the 
key of the Baltic ; and notwithstanding the difficulty 
that had hetn previously apprehended by persons 
who w^ere fond of anticipating disasters, it was 
eifected without the smallest injury to the British 
fleet.* 

* The annexed account of the several transactions immedi- 
ately preceding, and during the passage of the Sound, as it is 
certainly a most correct, so will it most probably prove, the most 
interesting narration that could be given. 

" Early on the morning of the 1 Sth of May, the admiral made 
the signal for seeing land ; and on the 19th about noon, we made 
the Scaw, which was the first general rendezvous of the fleet. 
The Scaw, or Scagen, is a low point of land, the most northerly 
of the peninsula of North Jutland. Apparently sandy and bar- 
ren, distant from Marstrand island, on the Swedish shore, 1 1 or 12 
leagues. On both these points the Danes and Swedes have 
erected light-houses ; towards the support of which all vessels 
that pass the Sound, or enter the Swedish ports, are obliged to 



LORD NELSON. I57 . 

The scene of future contest was now open, and the 
prospect is described as wonderfully fitted to excite 

contribute. The passage between the Scaw lights and the Cat- 
tegat, is considered the entrance of the Cattegat. 

*' At a period when every delay, however trifling, must have 
been favourable to the northern coalition, and when it was well 
known that the Danes were making every possible eflFort to ob- 
struct the passage of the Sound, and render Copenhagen inac- 
cessible to the approach of our gun-vessels, it excited a general 
surprise that our fleet did not pass the Cattegat with a strong N. 
W. wind, which was favourable, and that by lying to and stand- 
ing so many hours off the Scaw, the advantage should be lost 
resulting from expedition, and particularly so when the mildest 
winter known for many years in these climates, had left the pas- 
sage of the souad, and the navigation of the Baltic, completely 
open. 

•* From the 21st to the 24th, we had, in general, foul winds, 
heavy falls of sleet, snow and rain, which, added to a chilling^ 
cold, caused the ofiicers and crews to suffer considerable fatigue. 
The Russel had parted from -the admiral, in consequence of 
having been ordered to take the Tickler gun-brig in tow, on the 
13th, and this circumstance had nearly caused her destruction : 
she having, in her endeavours to preserve this vessel during a 
dark and hazy night, been drifted on a lee-shore, where she 
would inevitably have perished, but for the unexampled exertions 
of the officers and crew. 

" During the negociations that were carried on, previous to our 
passing the Sound, an incident occurred, which, though trivial 
in itself, may tend to point out tlie mode of thinking then pre- 
valent at the court of Denmark, and the perfect state of security 
in which the Danes considered themselves at the time. An ofl5- 
cer of distinction, high in favour with the prince, came on board 
the admiral, with a verbal answer to one of our proposals ; and 
finding som.e difficulty in expressing, with sufficient accuracy, 
the sentiments of his court, was requested to communicate them 
jn writing. The pen which had been brought for this purpose 



158 MEMOIRS OF 

a variety of emotions, mixing or succeeding each 
other, of the liveUest and most affecting nature ; a 

happening to be ill-pointed, he held it up, and observed with a 
sarcastic smile at those about him, *' If your guns are not better 
pointed than your pens, you will make little impression on Co- 
penhagen." 

*' Scarce had the admiral declared his intention of forcing the 
passage of the Sound, when he was induced to relinquish it, by 
the suggestions of some ignorant and designing pilots, who, 
from motives of fear or interest, had considerably exaggerated, 
the difficulties and dangers of the enterprise, and had represented, 
as much more practicable and less hazardous, the circuitous pas- 
sage of the Great Belt. The vague and inaccurate accounts 
that had been communicated respecting the preparations of the 
Swedes, and the strength of Helsinberg castle, where, as it has 
since appeared, there were mounted only eight effective guns of 
small calibre ; the difficulties in an hostile country of repairing 
the calamities that might be expected in passing the enemy's 
forts ; the disadvantage of a southerly wind, with some other 
important considerations ; and perhaps some secret prudential 
motives, appeared to fix the determination of the English admi- 
ral. The 26th, at day break, the fleet got under weigh, and 
stood to the westward, for the purpose, as it was generally be- 
lieved, of passing the Great Belt. Captain Murray of the Ed- 
gar, an active and intelligent officer, who, the preceding summer 
had surveyed this entrance to the Baltic with a degree of accuracy 
hitherto unknown, proffered his services to lead the fleet. It was 
now concluded, from the high opinion of this officer's professional 
abilities, and the facility with which the passage might be effected, 
in a place where the Danes had but one guard-ship, his offers 
would be accepted ; but they were not. On the 26th and 27tli, 
several vessels from the Baltic, under Prussian colours, passed 
the Sound ; and were permitted to proceed, although it was 
known that Prussia was acting hostilely against Great Britain at 
that time. The order given on the 28th to prepare for battle, 
an order always received by British tars with acclamations of joy. 



LORD NELSON. 159 

Splendid theatre appeared for war and victory ; but 
the face of nature, and the recollection of a common 

at length relieved us from a state of despondency ; and, together 
with some previous manceuvres of the admiral, convinced us that 
the passage of the Sound was decided upon. Nothing but the ap- 
pointment of a popular leader was now wanting, to maintain and 
direct to the accomplishment of an enterprise, that spirit of 
heroic enthusiasm which pervaded every bosom ; and fortu- 
nately for the English nation this service was allotted to tlie He- 
ro of the Nile, who had so often led the British tars to glory. 

*' The afternoon of the 29th was principally employed in clearing 
the ships for action, which was done with an alacrity and expedi- 
tion unexampled in the history of naval events ; and it now re- 
mained to overthrow, by the force of cannon, a popular error 
which all the power of reasoning could never have removed. It 
had long been a received opinion in Europe, that the possession 
of Cronenberg castle gave to the Danes an uncontrouled com- 
mand of the passage of the Sound ; and the Danes seem to have 
so far adopted this opinion, and to have profited by the imaginary 
advantage of their situation, that for more than a century they 
have exercised the undisputed right of levying contributions on all 
vessels, in proportion to the value of the cargo trading to and from 
the Baltic. The tacit assent given by the European powers to 
this flagrant imposition, apparently justified by the sanction of 
time, so far confirmed the Danes in the validity of this opinion, 
that they considered any augmentation to the works as superflu- 
ous ; and relying on the co-cperation of the Swedes, had neg- 
lected, by floating batteries, to render the approach of the English 
more difficult than otherwise itmight have been. The wind being 
as favourable as the most sanguine expectation could desire, the 
admiral, to the inexpressible joy of the wliole fleet, made, on the 
morning of the 30th, the signal to weigh and form the order of 
battle. The nomination of the conqueror of Aboukir to lead the 
van division, seemed already a happy presage of victory, and 
diffused a spirit of confidence and emulation, which the name of 
Nelson never falls to excite among British seamen. Sir Hyde- 



160 MEMOIRS OF 

interest, a common religion, and a common originc- 
or character, with the nations on the shores of the Bal- 
tic, could not but impress every intelligent and feel- 
ing mind with sentiments of regret ; these in the 
midst of all the apparatus, and almost in the very 
throat of war, tend, in some sort and degree, to har- 
monize the mind to peace and concord. Nothing in 
the northern parts of Europe, or of Asia, presents a 
prospect equal to the channel of the Sound, the ter- 
ritory of Denmark on the right, the islands of Salt- 
holm and Amak, with part of Zealand, and the capi- 
tal of the kingdom, Copenhagen, nearly in front. 

Parker acted with his division in the rear, as a corps de reserve. 
Such was the promptitude displayed in executing the orders to 
form a line, and to engage, that at half past six the Monarch, ap- 
pointed to lead the fleet, was so far advanced, that the enemy 
commenced a heavy and v/ell-supported fire, from the whole line 
of their positions, which vv-as instantaneously returned from the 
leading ships, and from some of those of the centre and rear di- 
visions. 

"No one circumstance during the operations of this memorable 
day contributed so efficaciously towards their ultimate success as 
the silence of the Swedish batteries. What might have been 
the motives that determined the conduct of Sweden on this oc- 
casion, whether a secret misunderstanding between the courts of 
Stockholm and Copenhagen, or apprehensions that the town of 
Helsinberg, would meet a fate similar to that of Elsineur, it is 
impossible to determine ; but certain it is, that not a single shot 
was fired on the part of the Swedes ; and at half past ten, every 
ship had passed the Sound without having sustained the slightest 
casualty, except six or seven men killed or wounded on board 
the Isis, by the bursting of one of her lower deck-guns. 

" Thus vanished, like the baseless fabric of a vision, that chi- 
mera, on which the Danes had founded a most lucrative imposi- 
tion, and obliged the English merchantmen to submit to insults, 
and rude injustice, tlaat ought never again to be tolerated. 



LORD NELSON. 161 

On the coast of Denmark appears a continued suc- 
cession of rich plains, woods, meado^vs, superb man- 
sions, neat villas, pleasant gardens, adorned with all 
the embellishments of art ; while the Swedish shore 
exhibits excellent pastures, a mountainous and pictu- 
resque coast. The island of Nuen, celebrated for the 
observatory of Tycho Brahe, arrests the attention of 
the passing voyager. To the eye, looking back from 
thence, the fortresses of Elsineur, Cronenberg, and 
Helsingberg, seem to unite, and to bound on the 
north, a vast lake ; but as soon as it advances, it dis- 
covers the sea, and the whole extent of the plain of 
Copenhagen ; its port filled with vessels, and its cul- 
tivated environs. On the side next the sea this city 
presents itself in all its magnificence. It is visible at 
the distance of several miles. The gothic towers 
with which it abounds, and which, from a distance, 
form a majestic appearance, engage and fix the atten- 
tion of the spectator, by the height of their spires, as 
well as by the variety of the ornaments with w^hich 
they are decorated. The number of inhabitants ex- 
ceeds eighty thousand. It contains the principal for- 
tress of the country, the fleet, the marine arsenals, the 
only university in Denmark, several academies, a su- 
perb library, a veterinary school, a school for cadets 
in the sea and land service, a museum containing a 
great variety of rare and curious objects, a number 
of fine edifices, statues, and monuments, of every 
kind. The streets are for the most part broad, and 
well paved. There are excellent footways, as in Lon- 
don, and every where the signs of comfort, wealth, 
and magnificence. The ganison in time of peace 

22 



163 MEMOIRS OF 

consists of six regiments of infantry, the foot guard, 
the horse guard, a corps of artillery, a corps of ma- 
rines, amounting in the whole to about ten thousand 
men ; to which may be added the city militia, the 
chief officers of which are appointed by the king, and 
rank among the officers in the army. The fortress 
of Frederickstadt, supported on one side by the bat- 
teries of one of the arsenals, defends the entrance 
of the harbour, where there is besides another bat- 
tery, and where, in case of necessity, a number of 
fiat-bottomed boats and floating batteries may be 
stationed, as in fact they were in the present junc- 
ture. Such was the city, the capital of a congenial 
and long friendly nation, that was now pointed out 
as an object of attack to the British navy. 

The first apparent difficulty being overcome, the 
second, certainly the most important, instantly pre- 
sented itself; it was no less than the attack of the 
capital of Denmark, as has been already observed, 
the city of Copenhagen. As on the success of this 
enterprise the event of the campaign solely depended, 
so were the most industrious and active means used 
to insure it. Lord Nelson, with that ardour which 
ever characterized his conduct, voluntarily stood 
forth to encounter w^ith his best exertions of mind 
and body, the apprehended danger. The offer of 
his services was accepted, and the command of the 
squadron selected for the attack, conferred on him. 
The necessary position to be taken upon the occasion, 
together with the passage to it, were very little known, 
and extremely intricate ; but it is the part of great 
men to overcome such impediments. His lordship 



LORD NELSON. 16S 

personally attended to every preparatory measure ; lie 
saw the soundings accurately made under his own 
eye and observation, and the several buoys laid which 
were to direct the passage of his fleet : the fatigue 
was excessive, and had nearly proved top grievous 
for his lordship's delicate constitution, and infirm 
state of health ; his ardour and zeal, however, ena- 
bled him to overcome every obstacle ; and having 
arranged all these necessary preparatory measures, 
he is said, with that truly christian spirit of devotion, 
which marked every action of his life, to have ex- 
claimed, "Thank God for having enabled me to get 
through this difficult and fatiguing part of my duty, 
which has nearly worn me down, and is infinitely 
more grievous to me, than any resistance I can ex- 
perience from an enemy." 

According to the plan of operation arranged be- 
tween his lordship and the commander in chief, the 
former was to proceed with twelve ships of the line, 
all the frigates, bomb-ketches, fire ships, and other 
vessels, to Draco Point, a short distance from Co- 
penhagen, for the purpose of making his last dispo- 
sitions for the attack, and waiting for a favourable 
wind to the southward, to effect that purpose. The 
commander in chief, it was agreed, was to weigh an- 
chor with his division, at the same time his lordship 
proceeded to the attack, and to menace, by his ad- 
vance, the crown batteries, together with four ships, 
or hulks that lay near it, for the protection of the arse- 
nal, as well as to cover any vessels that might have 
the misfortune to be disabled, in his lordship's attack. 



164 MEMOIRS OF 

On the second of April the signal for that encoun- 
ter which was to decide the destruction of the nor- 
thern confederacy, or the humiliation of England, 
was displayed by his lordship.* The particulars, 

* The following orders were given for the attack : 
As Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson cannot with precision mark 
the situations of the different descriptions of the enemy's 
floating batteries and smaller vessels, lying between their two- 
deck ships and hulks, the ships which are to be opposed to the 
floating batteries, &c. will find their stations by observing the 
stations of the ships to be opposed to the two-decked ships 
and hulks. 

LINE OF BATTLE. 

f Edgar, ^ 
These ships are to j Ardent, ^^^ ^^ j^^^ j^ ^^^^ 

fire m passnig on <^ Glatton, }> ^^^^.^^^ 

to their stations. | Isis, | 

[^ Agamemnon,* J 

The Edgar to anchor abreast of No. 5 (a sixty-four gun ship 
hulk.) The Ardent to pass the Edgar and anchor abreast of 
No. 6. and No. 7- The Glatton to pass the Ardent and anchor 
abreast of No. 9 (a sixty- four gun ship hulk.) The Isis to an- 
chor abreast of No 2 ( a sixty-four gun ship hulk. ) The Aga- 
memon to anchor abreast of No. 1. 

Bellona,* 

Elephant, 
anges, r^^ ^^j_^^ their station and anchor as pre- 

.^ * I crrihpri Viv tbp follnwincr prrano-fTYipntt;- 

Dehance, 

Russel,* 

Polyphemus, 

Memorandum. No. 1 begins with the enemy's first ships to 

southward. 

Supposed number 
No. Rate. of guns mounted 

on one side. 

Y4 - ^g r Agamemnon.* 

„ ' . " ' o^ "i Desiree is to follow Agamem- 

4 045 - - - - /b {^^^^^ ^^^ ^^},g j^^^ 2. 



scribed by the following arrangements. 



LORD NELSON. 165 

and the events which took place and to which it gave 
birth, are most accurately and concisely given, in 

. . f It is hoped the Desiree's fire, 

3 fLow floating batteries, T 10 will not only rake No. 1, but also 
■< ship-rigged, rather lay > < rake these 2 floating batteries. 

4 (.within the line. J 10 { ^^P*^- ^<^^^ '^ ^'^ P'=^^*^ *^ ^ S"n- 

L brigs so as to rak^ them also. 

5 64 27 Edgar. . 

6 ("Pontoon . - - - lOl , , ^ 

7 irrigate hulk - - - 12 j^^'^^"^* 

8 I Small, no guns visible ^^| ^j^^^^^^ 

30 Ship s;un-boatof 22 2:uns 11")t5ii *» • i 

1 1 C Pontoons, or - - - 1 2 I ^!"°f '* ^° §^^t n^T'' 

121 Floating batteries " l^j tion to support the Glattoq. 

13 74 36 Elephant. 

14 J Pontoons, or - - - 121^ 

15 1 Floating batteries - 1 2 J ^^^S^^' 

16 64 30 Monarch. 

17 64 30 Defiance. 

18 64 ----- 30 Russel.* 

19 64 30 Polyphemus. 

«^ f A small ship, supposed 1 , , 

1 a bomb - - - y 

Ships marked thus (*) were not in action, being on shore, 
though, from their situatioB, they were exposed to the ene- 
my's fire. 

The six gun boats. Captain Rose is to place with the Jamaica, 
to make a raking fire upon No. 1. The gun boats, it is presum-* 
ed, may get far enough a-stern of No. 1 to take Nos. 3 and 4 ; 
and Captain Rose is to advance with the ships and vessels under 
his orders, to the northward, as he may perceive the British fire 
to cease where he is first stationed. 

Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, being subdued, which is expected to happen 
at an early period, the Isisand Agamemnon are to cut their cables, 
and immediately make sail and take their stations a-head of the 
Polyphemus, In order to support that part of the line. One flat 
boat, manned and armed, is to remain on the offside of each line 
cf battle ship. The remaining flat boats, with the boats for board- 



166 MEMOIRS OF 

the official report made by his lordship to the com- 
mander in chief. It is necessary only to observe, 
that as the situation of the enemy was formidable in 
the extreme, so was the resistance most gallant and 
determined. Lord Nelson himself bore the most de- 
cided testimony of the high opinion with which the 
bravery of the defenders had impressed him ; he has 
been known to declare repeatedly, that the attack of 
Copenhagen was, of all the encounters in which he 
had ever been engaged, the most tremendous. 

During that pause of action, which, as we shall 
presently see, took place in the afternoon of the day 
of attack, he declared to colonel Lindholm, aid-du- 
camp to the crown prince, who waited on him with 
a message respecting a flag of truce which he had 

ing, which will be sent by Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, under the 
command of a first lieutenant of the London, are to keep as near 
to the Elephant as possible, but out of the line of fire, and to be 
ready to receive the direction of Lord Nelson. 

The four launches, with anchors and cables, which will be sent 
by Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, under the command of a lieutenant 
of the London, to be as near tlie Elephant as possible, out of tlie 
line of fire, ready to receive orders from Vice-Admiral Lord 
Nelson. 

The Alcmene, Blanche, Arrov/, Dart, Zephyr, and Otter fire- 
ships, are to proceed under the orders of Captain Riou, of the 
Amazon, to perform such service as he is directed by Lord Nel- 
son. 

The Agamemnon could not weather the shoal, and was not 
in action. The Polyphemus could not get further than No. 1 , so 
thatNos. H', 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, were opposed to the Ele- 
phant, Ganges, Monarch, Amazon, Blanche, Alcmene, and Ar- 
row; added to which, there were two batteries on shore, one 
mounting thirty-six brass twenty-four pounders, and four mor- 
tars ; the other fifty-two brass twenty-four pounders. 



LORD NELSON. Igf 

sent, that " the Frencli fought bravely, but that they 
could not have stood an hour, the fight which the 
Danes maintained for four : I have been, said his 
lordship, in one hundred and five engagements in 
the course of my life, but that of to day was the most 
terrible of all."* 

* The British official dispatches relative to the attack on Co- 
penhagen. 

"Sir, « Copenhagen Roads, April 6, ISOL 

« You will be pleased to acquaint the Lords Commissioners of 
the Admiralty that since my letter of the 23d of March, no op- 
portunity of wind offered for going up the Sound until the 25th, 
when the wind shifted In a most violent squall from the S. W. 
to N. W. and north, and blew with such violence, and with so 
great a sea, as to render it Impossible for any ship to have weigh- 
ed her anchor. The Avind and sea were even so violent as to 
oblige many ships to let go a second anchor to prevent them 
from driving, notwithstanding they were riding with two cables 
an end ; and, by the morning, the wind veered again to the south- 
ward of west : On the 30ch of last month, the wind having 
come to the northward, we passed into the Sound with the fleet, 
but not before I had assured myself of the hostile Intentions of 
theDanesto oppose our passage. After anchoring about five or six 
miles from the Island of Huin, I reconnoitred with Vice- Admiral 
Lord Nelson, and Rear-Admlral Graves, the formidable line of 
ships, radeaus, pontoons, galleys, fire-ships, and gun-boats, flank- 
ed and supported by extensive batteries on the two Islands called 
The Crowns ; the largest of which was mounted with from 50 to 
70 pieces of cannon ; these were again commanded by two ships 
of 70 guns, and a large frigate In the Inner road of Copenhagen 
and two 64 gun-ships (without masts,) were moored on the flat, 
on the starboard side of the entrance into the arsenal. The day 
after, the wind being southerly, we again examined their posi- 
tion, and came to the resolution of attacking therii from the south- 
ward. Vice- Admiral Lord Nelson, having offered his services 
for conducting the attack, had, some days before we entered the 



J68 MEMOIRS OF 

Nothing indeed, widiout the slightest suspicion of 
flattery be it said, could exceed the firmness and in- 
Sound, shifted his flag to the Elephant ; and after having exam- 
ined and buoyed the outer channel of the middle ground, his 
lordship proceeded with the twelve ships of the line named in 
the margin,f all the frigates, bombs, fire-ships, and all the small 
vessels, and that evening anchored off Draco Point, to make his 
disposition for the attack, and wait for the wind to the southward. 
It was agreed between us, that the remaining ships with me 
should weigh at the same moment his lordship did, and menace 
the Crown batteries, and Uic four ships of the line that lay at 
the entrance of the arsenal ; as also to cover our disabled ships 
as they came out of action. 

I have now the honor to inclose a copy of Vice Admiral Lord 
Nelson's report to me of the action on tlie 2d instant. His lord- 
ship has stated so fully the whole of his proceedings on that day, 
as only to leave me the opportunity to testify my entire acquies- 
cence and testimony of the bravery and intrepidity with which 
the action was supported throughout the line. Was it possible 
for me to add any thing to the well-earned renown of Lord Nel- 
son, it would be by asserting, that his exertions, great as they 
have heretofore been, never were carried to a higher pitch of zeal 
for his country's service. 1 have only to lament that the sort of 
attack, confined within an intricate and narow passage, excluded 
the ships particularly under my command from the opportunity of 
exhibiting their valour ; but I can with great truth assert, that 
the same spirit and zeal animated the whole of the fleet ; and I 
trust that the contest in which we are engaged, will, on some fu- 
ture day, afford them an occasion of showing that the whole were 
hispired with the same spirit, had the field been sufficiently ex- 
tensive to have brought it into action. 

It is with the deepest concern I mention the loss of Captains 
Moss and Rlou, two very brave and gallant officers, and whose 
loss, as I am well informed, will be sensibly felt by the families 
they have left behind them ; the former a wife and children, the 

f Elephant, Defiance, Mo'iarch, Bellona, Edgar, Russel, Ganges, 
Glatton, Isis, Agamemnon, Polyphemus, Ardent. 



LORD NELSON. 169 

trepidity displayed by the Danes, and never was 
there perhaps any situation whatever, that called it 

latter an aged mother. From the known gallantry of Sir Tho- 
mas Thompson on former occasions, the naval service will have 
to regret the loss of thefuture exertions of that brave officer, whose 
leg was shot off. For all other particulars, I beg leave to refer 
their Lordships to Captain Otway, who was with Lord Nelson in 
the latter part of the action, and able to answer any question that 
may be thought necessary to put to him. A return of the killed 
and wounded you will receive herewith 

" I have the honour to be, Sec. 
«H. Parker." 
*< Elephant, off Copenhagen, 3d April, 1801, 
«' Sir, 
" In obedience to your directions to report the proceedings of 
the squadron named in the margin,f which you did me the honor 
to place under my command, I beg leave to inform you, that hav- 
ing, by the assistance of that able officer. Captain Riou, and the 
unremitting exertions of Captain Brisbane, and the masters of the 
Amazon and Cruiser, in particular, buoyed the channel of the 
Outer Deep, and the position of the middle Ground, the squadron 
passed in safety, and anchored off Draco the evening of the 
first ; and that yesterday morning 1 made the signal for the 
squadron to weigh and engage the Danish line, consisting of six 
sail of the line, eleven floating batteries, mounting from twenty- 
six twenty- four pouuders to eighteen eighteen pounders, and one 
bomb-ship, besides schoonergun-vessels. These were supported by 
the Crown Islands, mounting eighty-eight cannon, and four sail 
of the line moored in the harbour's mouth, and some batteries on 
the island of Amak. The bomb-ship and schoonergun-vessels 
made their escape, the other seventeen sail are sunk, burnt, or 

f Elephant, Defiance, Monarch, Bellona, Edgar, Russel, Ganges, 
Glatton, Isis, Agamemnon, Polyphemus, Ardent, Amazon, Desiree, 
Blanche, Alcmene; sloops — Dart, Arrow, Cruiser, and Harpy; fire-ships- 
Zephyr and Otter ; bombs — Discovery, Sulphur, Hecla, Explosion, Ze- 
bra, Terror, and Volcano. 

9S^ 



170 MEMOIRS OF 

forth more imperiously. The encounter took place 
in the presence of a prince beloved and adored ; in 

taken, being the whole of the Danish line to the southward of the 
Crown Islands, after a battle of four hours. 

From the very intricate navigation, the Bellona and Russel un- 
fortunately grounded ; but although not in the situation assigned 
them, yet so placed as to be of great service. The Agamemnon 
could not weather the shoal of the middle, and was obliged to an- 
chor ; but not the smallest blame can be attached to Captain 
Fancourt ; it was an event to which all the ships were liable. 
These accidents prevented the extension of our line by the three 
ships before mentioned, who would I am confident, have silenced 
the Crown Islands, the two outer ships in the habour's mouth, 
and prevented the heavy loss in the Defiance and Monarch, and 
which unhappily threw the gallant and good Captain Riou (to 
whom I had given the command of the frigates and sloops named 
in the margin,f to assist the attack of the ships at the harbour's 
mouth,) under a very heavy fire; the consequence has been the 
death of Captain Riou, and many brave officers and men in the 
frigates and sloops. The bombs were directed and took their sta- 
tions abreast of the Elephant, and threw some shells into the ar- 
senal. Captain Rose, who volunteered his services to direct the 
gun-brigs, did every thing that was possible to get them forward, 
but the current was too strong for them to be of service during 
the action ; but not the less merit is due to Captain Rose, and I 
believe, all the officers and crews of the gun-brigs, for their exer- 
tions. — The boats of those ships of the fleet, who were not ordered 
on the attack, afforded us every assistance ; and the officers and 
men who were in them, merit my warmest approbation. The 
Desiree took her station in raking the southernmost Danish ship 
of the line, and performed the greatest service. 

Tlie action began at five minutes past ten. The van, led by 
Captain George Murray of the Edgar, who set a noble example 
of Intrepidity, which was as well followed up by every captain, 
officer, and man in the squadron. It is my duty to state to you 
the high and distinguished merit and gallantry of Rear-Admiral 
Graves. To Captain Foley, who permitted me the honour of 

f Blanche, Alcmene, Dart, Arrow, Zephyr, and Otter. 



LORD NELSON. 171 

the very front and view of the metropolis, where the 
parents^ the children, relatives and friends of the de- 

hoistlng my flag in the Elephant, I feel under the greatest obliga- 
tions ; his advice was necessary on many important occasions du- 
ring the battle. I beg leave to express how much I feel indebted 
to every captain, officer, and man, for their zeal and distinguished 
bravery on this occasion. The Honourable Colonel Stewart did 
xne the favour to be on board the Elephant ; and himself, with ev- 
ery other officer and soldier under his orders, shared with pleas- 
ure the toils and dangers of the day. The loss in such a battle 
has naturally been very heavy. Amongst many other brave offi- 
cers and men who were killed, I have with sorrow, to place the 
name of Captain Moss, of the Monarch, who has left a wife and 
six children to lament his loss ; and, among the wounded, that of 
Captain Sir Thomas B. Thompson, of the Bellona. 
" I have the honour to be, &c. 

" Nelson and Bronte." 

KILLEQ. 

Officers, - - - . 20 

Seamen, Marines, and Soldiers, SS'l — 254- 

WOUNDED. 

Officers, .... 48 

Seamen, Marines, and Soldiers, 651 — 689 



Total killed and wounded, 943 
Sir Hyde Parker, knight, who is now living, was the second 
son of Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, baronet ; he entered into 
the naval service of his country when very young, under the aus- 
pices and protection of his father ; and after having served as a 
petty officer on board the Squirrel, was removed into the Bril- 
liant ; in which ship he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant 
on the 25tli of January, 1758. From this ship he accompanied 
his father, in the same capacity, on board the Norfolk, then under 
orders for the East- Indies, and having arrived there, was very ra- 
pidly promoted to the rank of Post-Captain, by commission bear- 
ing date July 18th, 1763. The ship he took the command of on 



172 MEMOIRS OF 

ceased, were not only spectators of their gallant con- 
duct, but actually depended on it as their sole hope, 

this occasion is said, by Mr. Hardy, to have been the Bellaine, 
though no such ship appears on the list of the royal navy. From 
this period till the year 1775, the naval annals are silent concern- 
ing this gentleman ; in the latter year, however, we find him ap- 
pointed to the Phoenix, in which ship he almost immediately pro- 
ceded to North America, where he distinguished himself in va- 
rious petty encounters in a most eminent degree, and most par- 
ticularly, when having, on the 9th of October, 17T6, been de- 
tached with the Roebuck and Tartar under his orders, to force a 
passage, if possible, above the American works at JelFry's Hook, 
on York Island, he, notwidistanding the very great obstacles 
which the enemy had prepared to counteract his endeavours, so 
gallantly conducted the force under his command, in which he 
was bravely seconded by the officers and men under his orders, 
that he completely overcame all difficulties. For his conduct on 
tliis occasion, his Majesty was pleased to confer on him thehonour 
of knighthood. Though Sir Hyde continued in active service in 
the same seas for the two succeeding years, nothing particularly 
interesting occurred to raise his character higher than it already 
was, and the Phoenix bein^ in want of a complete repair, he re- 
turned in her to England about the beginning of the year 1 779. 

Sir Hyde still retained the command of the same ship, and it 
having been put in a state of complete repair, he was ordered at 
the close of the year to Jamaica, for which place he sailed in the 
month of December, in company with Sir George, afterwards 
Lord Rodney, who was destined for Gibraltar. Sir Hyde having 
parted company, proceeded with the convoy, which had been con- 
signed to his charge, to the place of his destination, and having 
seen it safe into port, continued to cruise in those seas till the month 
of October, with considerable success against the enemy. 

A tremendous hurricane, which in the month last mentioned al- 
most laid waste the whole of the islands in that quarter of the 
world, proved fatal to the Phoenix. She v/as wrecked on the isl- 
and of Cuba, after having received the greatest injury during the 



LORD NELSON. 173 

refuge, and protection, from the fury of their assallanst. 
The feelings of all ranks were, as may easily be con- 
tempest ; of the crew, twenty were unfortunately washed over- 
board with the main-mast : all the remainder, together with Sir 
Hyde, amounting to two hundred and forty persons, reached the 
shore in safety. In this disastrous and trying situation, the abil- 
ities of the commander shone conspicuous ; by his exhorta- 
tions the survivors were animated to use every exertion for their 
preservation, not only from their immediate evils, but from those 
they might naturally apprehend. They v/ere cast on a shore in 
the possession of their enemies, and a fate not much superior to 
that which they had so narrowly escaped, was the probable conse- 
quence of their being discovered. To remedy, however, and pre- 
vent as far as possible, any such disaster from happening to them. 
Sir Hyde Parker, with indefatigable Industry, caused a tempora- 
ry fortification to be erected, and having procured some cannon, 
together with ammunition, from the wreck, caused them to be 
mounted in the best manner he could, so as to command the ap- 
proach of the enemy. He had also the precaution to send off 
immediately after the accident happened, his first lieutenant, Mr. 
Archer, in one of the ship's boats to Jamaica, for assistance, and 
had the good fortune, in seven days after the loss of the ship, to 
have his anxiety for his brave companions in distress alleviated, 
by the arrival of vessels from the latter island, which conveyed 
them in safety to Montego Bay, which they reached on the 15th 
of the same month. 

Soon after the above unfortunate event, Sir Hyde arrived in 
England, and was appointed to the Goliath, of seventy-four guns, 
a ship then under equipment for the Cliannel service. In this 
command he accompanied Lord Howe in the month of Septem- 
ber, 1782, on the expedition for the relief of Gibraltar, and in 
the partial encounter which took place on that occasion between 
the British fleet and the combined armament of France and 
Spain, led the van, and had four men killed, with one of his 
lieutenants, and the master, together with fourteen seamen or ma- 
rines, wounded. Peace taken place soon after tliis period. Sir 
Hyde returned to England in the Goliath, and again sailed to 



174 MEMOIRS OF 

ceived, wound up to the highest pitch of sensibility ; 
but the fears, the hopes, and the presages of the in- 

Gibraltar on the 14th of October 1783 : on his second return from 
thence the Goliath being stationed as a guard-ship at Portsmouth 
he retained the command of her dunng the customarily allotted 
period. 

On the apprehended rupture with France in the year 1787» 
Sir Hyde was appointed to the Orion, of seventy-four guns ; but 
the point in dispute being soon adjusted, the Orion was put out 
of commission, afld Sir Hyde became unemployed. He continu- 
ed in retirement from the service till the month of May, 1790, 
when he received the command of the Brunswick, of seventy -four 
guns, on the prospect of a rupture with Spain ; but this storm 
soon subsiding like the preceding. Sir Hyde again resigned his 
command. 

Hostilities having commenced against France in the year 1793, 
Sir Hyde was, on the 1st of February, promoted to the rank of 
rear-admiral of the white, and accepted the station of first cap- 
tain to vice-admiral lord Hood, who was appointed chief in com- 
mand in the Mediterranean ; he accordingly proceeded with him 
thither in the Victory, from which ship he sometime afterwards 
removed into the St George, and hoisted his flag as commander of 
a squadron. On the 12th of April, 1794, he was advanced to 
be rear-admiral of the red, and on the 4th of June following to 
be vice-admiral of the blue. Not long after he had been raised 
to the latter rank, he was present at the partial encounter with the 
French fleet, in which engagement the Ca Ira, of eighty guns, 
and the Censeur of seventy-four, became prizes to admiral (since 
Lord) Hotham, who had succeeded to the command in the Med- 
iterranean. On the 1st of June subsequent to the above engage- 
ment, Sir Hyde was further advanced to be vice-admiral of the 
red. No other remarkable occurrence happened during this 
gentleman's service in those seas, except a second trivial skirmish 
with tlie French squadron, on the 13th of July succeeding his 
last promotion, in which I'Alcide, of seventy-four guns, surreu-. 
dered, but was afterwards unfortunately blown up. 



LORD NELSON. l75 

dividual, wefe lost in the general concern ; and the 
magnitude of the stake directed the minds of all to 

Sir Hyde returned to England in the year 1796, and was very 
soon afterwards appointed to the Jamaica station, where by the 
judicious arrangement of his cruisers, he most materially annoy- 
ed the trade of the enemy. Having remained on this station for 
the space of tliree years, he returned to England, and was al- 
most immediately appointed to a command in the Channel fleet. 
Nothing interesting occurred in this species of service, neither 
are there any further particulars worth noticing till his appoint- 
ment to the chief command of the fleet destined for the Baltic, on 
which occasion he hoisted his flag on board the London. His con- 
duct on this service Was deserving of the highest encomiums. Af- 
ter the conclusion of the treaty, which the memorable engage- 
ment at Copenhagen produced. Sir Hyde struck his flag, since 
which time he has not occupied any active situation in the naval 
service of his country. On the I'ith day of February, 1799, he 
was raised to the rank of admiral of the blue squadron ; he was 
further promoted to be admiral of the white on the 23d of April, 
1 804 ; and, lastly, on the 9th of November, 1805, the same 
rank in the red squadron. 

Sir Thomas Boulden Thompson, whose original name was 
Boulden, is a native of Kent. The confined circumstances of his 
father preventing his giving his son a necessary education, his un- 
cle, the late Captain Edward Thompson, whose name he now 
bears, took him under his protection ; and observing a predilec- 
tion in his nephew for the sea service, bestowed on him the in- 
structions requisite to that science, for which Captain Thompson 
was himself most eminently qualified as a preceptor* 

Amongst the band of heroes who fought under Nelson, at the 
battle of the Nile, no one shone more conspicuous than Captain 
Thompson, who, in the Leander, which mounted only SQ guns, 
took his station in the line, and with a degree of skill and ability 
most honourable to him, gallantly dropped his anchor athwart 
the hav/se of le Franklin, of 80 guns, and raked her with great 
success. 



176 MEMOIRS OF 

one point only. From the crown prince, say the 
most candid observers and writers, whose cool intre- 

After the engagement was over, the Leander was sent by the 
Rear-Admiral with his dispatches to the commander in chief. — 
During the passage it was Captain Thompson's fortune to fall in 
with le Genereux, a French ship of 74- guns, and finding himself 
unable to avoid an action, gallantly prepared for an engagement j 
which, notwithstanding his great inferiority, he maintained for sir 
hours and a half; nor did he strike until he had consulted Cap- 
tain Berry, the bearer of the dispatches, who joined in opinion, 
that every thing had been done that was possible, to preserve his 
majesty's ship from falling into the possession of the enemy, — 
The slaughter was very great ; it amounted to thirty-five killed, 
including three officers ; fifty-seven were wounded, among whom 
were seven officers. 

The ship being almost a wreck, was carried into Corfu, where 
Captain Thompson and his crew were treated with the greatest 
inhumanity ; the surgeon was even robbed of his instruments^ 
when preparing to attend the captain, who was very near falling 
victim to their inhuman conduct. 

On the 17th of December, 1798, Captain Thompson, having 
been exchanged, underwent the necessary ceremony of a trial, 
for the loss of the Leander, onboard the America, at Sheerness, 
when having been most honourably acquitted, the president, after 
the judgment of the court had been read, addressed to him the 
following speech : 

" Captain Thompson — I feel the most lively pleasure in re- 
turning to you the sword with which you have so bravely main- 
tained the honor of your king and country ; the more so, as I am 
convinced, that when you are again called upon to draw it in 
their defence, you will add fresh laurels to the wreath which 
you have already so nobly won." 

The honour of knighthood was soon after this time conferred 
on him, together with a pension of three hundred pounds a year. 

No particular occurrence happened to him till the expedition 
to the Baltic took place in the month of March, 1801, where the 



LORD NELSON. I77 

pidity and judgment were gloriously displayed in the 
sight of his people, and of Europe, to the humblest 

Bellona, of which he still retained the command, was one of the 
fleet sent thither under the orders of Sir Hyde Parker. In this 
expedition Sir Thomas was one of the officers employed in the de- 
tachment under Lord Nelson, but unfortunately, on account of 
the intricacy of the navigation, ran on ground, before he could get 
into action. In this siiuation Sir Thomas was exposed to the fire 
of the enemy's batteries, and had the misfortue to receive a shot, 
which deprived him of his leg, and from that time, his country 
of his services. For his conduct on this occasion, Sir Thomas 
received the thanks of both houses of parliament, in common with 
the rest of the officers, and received an increase of his pension, 
from three to five hundred pounds a year. He has since been ap- 
pointed to the command of the Mary yatcht, which command he 
still enjoys ; and in the society of an amiable family, devotes his 
time to their comfort and happiness. 

Captain Edward Riou entered into the public service at a very 
early age. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the year 
1780, and having particularly distinguished himself, not only by 
his attention to the service, but by his skill and knowledge as a 
navigator, was, after having held a variety of intermediate ap- 
pointments, invested with the command of the Guardian, a fifth 
rate, of 44? guns, but at that time armed enfule : a vessel at that 
time employed as one of the storeships, occasionally sent to the 
infant colony of Botany Bay on the coast of New South Wales. 

Mr. Riou, though invested with all the authority of a captain 
or commander, remained still a lieutenant, the rules of the service 
not requiring an officer of higher rank to fill the station he then 
held. The Guardian had a most favourable passage to the day 
on which he met with the accident, having been only three months 
from Portsmouth, to the time of her leaving the Cape, including 
the five days which she remained at the Cape de Verd Islands, 
and three weeks at the Cape, to take in provisions. She had pro- 
ceeded thence towards Botany Bay, as far as latitude 44 south, 
longitude 41 1-2 east ; Avhen, on the night of the 13th day of her 

24 



ITS MEMOIRS OF 

citizen, one heroic mind and purpose seemed to ani- 
mate and unite the whole : never had the Danish va- 

depature from die Cape, she drove on an island of ice, the base 
of which projected under water considerably beyond tlie limits 
of the visible part, and caught the bow of the ship ; she instantly 
swung round, and her head cleared ; but her stern coming on the 
shoal, struck repeatedly, and the sea being very heavy, the rudder 
was torn away, and all her works abaft were shivered. The ship 
in this situation became in a degree embayed under the terrific 
bulk of ice ; the height was twice that of the main-mast of a third 
rate ; the prominent head of the ice was every moment expected 
to break away, and overwhelm her. At length, after every prac- 
ticable exertion, she was got off the shoal, but with six feet and a 
half of water in her hold. The island of ice was discovered only 
one minute and an half before the ship struck it. By the exertions 
made by the crew, in stopping the leak with oakum and canvas 
the water was reduced to two feet in the course of the next day ; 
and great hopes were entertained of saving the ship ; but the gale 
of wind increasing, the fothering gave way, and the water poured 
in again rapidly, so that it increased to near ten feet. 

The ship being discovered to be strained in all her works, and 
the sea running very high, every endeavour to check the pro- 
gress of a particular leak proved ineffectual. An immediate pro- 
ject was fixed on to lighten the ship ; and the cows, horses, sheep, 
and all the other live stock for the colony, were with their fodder, 
committed to the deep. The only chance of safety for the crew 
now appeared in the possibility of their saving themselves by ta- 
king to the boats. On the morning of the 25th, therefore, they 
were hoisted out, and being previously rigged and provisioned, 
a part of the crew left the ship. 

The cool intrepidity displayed by Mr. Riou,on this dreadful oc- 
casion, may vie with the most heroic act that has ever graced the 
page of history since the foundation of the world ; he sat down 
with the utmost coolness, and wrote the following affecting letter 
to the lords of the admiralty, which he confided to the care of 
Mr. Clements the master, who was the chief among those offi- 



LORD N£LSOJ<r. I79 

lour, in the brightest periods of their history, shone 
out with a more distinguished Uistre. The darino- 

cers, who considering the case as desperate beyond remedy, 
thought proper to quit the Guardian, and abandon that ship, with 
her commander, and the rest of the crew, to their fate : 

"His Majesty's Ship Guardian, Dec. 25, 1789. 

« If any part of the officers or crew of the Guardian should ever 
survive to get home, I have only to say, their conduct, after the 
fatal stroke against an island of ice, was admirable and wonderful 
in every thing that relates to their duties, considered either as pri- 
vate men, or in his majesty's service. 

'• As tliere seems to be no possibility of my remaining many 
hours in this world, I beg leave to recommend to the considera- 
tion of the admiralty a sister, who, if my conduct or services 
should be found deserving any memory, their favour might be 
shewn to, together with a widowed mother. I am, sir, remaining, 
with great respect, your ever obedient servant, 

*'E. Riou. 
« Philip Stephens, Esq." 

As, however, when circumstances appear most desperate, and 
destruction almost absolutely inevitable, Providence frequently 
thinks proper to manifest her power, and display to the world the 
most irrefragable proofs of her all protecting interference, so did 
she in the present case j for after every human exertion that could 
be made, had failed, natural causes, which, till they were experi- 
enced, had never been thought of, contributed to the preservation 
pf this unfortunate ship. On the 27th of April, 1790, advice was 
received at the admiralty, that « the Guardian man of war, of 44 
guns, armed enfute, that is, as a storeship, had struck on an island 
of ice, on the 24th of December, 1789, in her voyage to Botany 
Bay, and that Mr. Clements the master had left her In the launch, 
and arrived safe at the Cape of Good Hope, In a French ship 
which picked him up ; that part of the crew also left the ship in 
four other boats, all of which it was feared were lost ; and that 
lieutenant Riou had resolutely determined to remain on board, 
with the remainder of the crew, and to perish with the ship." 



180 MEMOIRS OF 

pirates of the ninth and tenth centuries did not exhib- 
it greater intrepidity and prowess in invading, than 
their descendants of the nineteenth century did in 
resisting an invasion from England. If the recollec- 
tion of a common origin, a simihuuty of manners, 
and long habits of commercial and social intercourse, 
tends to impress on both nations a conviction, that 
they are fitted and destined to act friendly towards 
each other, the ever memorable battle of Copenha- 
gen, not more glorious to one party than the other, 
ouglit also to be a long memento, that they are not 
less fitted to be mutually dreadful and destructive 
enemies. 

In the hopeless state, already mentioned, theshlpcontinued for 
several days witliout a rudder, and ■w-holly unmanageable, but 
the attention to the reduction of the water in her hold was resum- 
ed whenever the remainder of her weary crew felt the return of 
strength and power. In brief, the Guardian was kept afloat until 
a Ducth packet boat from Batavia providentially steering in a 
high southerly latitude fell in with her, and by affording her the 
aid of men, and other succours, enabled her to make good her 
way back to the Cape of Good Hope, having kept company with 
her during the passage. The Guardian was at least four hun- 
dred leagues from the Cape when she fell in with the island of 
ice. 

The crew consisted of one hundred and twenty-three persons, 
of whom twenty-five were convicts. It was with Captain Riou's 
express permission that the boats left the ship ; he was by no 
means averse to the measure, for he wished to preserve as many 
lives as he could, since he considered all attempts that could be 
made to save the ship fruitless, though he had himself, from the 
first moment, resolved to perish in her. Ninety of the crew con- 
tinued with him, and arrived safe at the Cape. The Guardian 
v.'as eight v.'eeks to a day in making a course something less 



LORD NELSON. 151 

The disaster which had befallen three of the Bri- 
tish ships, the Agamemnon, theEellona, and the 
Riissel, would have been sufficient to have damped 
the ardour of less determined adversaries than the 
British. But although the misfortune failed to pro- 
duce that species of effect, it became severely felt, 
from its immediate and active operation. In conse- 
quence of so great a defalcation of force, the fire in- 
tended in many instances to have been divided, be- 
came concentrated, not unfrequently on objects lit- 
tle capable of sustaining so mighty a pressure ; but 
under all these disadvantages, the steadiness of the 
British attack prevailed. Towards the afternoon the 

than four hundred leagues. During the whole of that time the 
crew were never for a single hour protected from the weatlier. An 
awning of sailcloth was extended over part of the quarter-deck, 
to afford the best shelter circumstances would admit, to tlie men, 
in tlie short intervals and respites from duty. 

The fate of this unfortunate ship was truly remarkable : after 
having survived, if the term be allowed, the dreadful disaster just 
mentioned, and arrived in safety at the Cape of Good Hope, she 
was very soon afterwards driven on shore in a violent gale of 
\vind, and completely lost. To return, however, to Mr. Riou. 
In a very short time after his arrival in England, he was promo- 
ted to the rank of commander, and in 1791j to that of post cap- 
tain. In a few months after the commencement of hostilities 
with France, in 1793, he was appointed to the Rose, of twenty- 
eight guns, but retained the command of that ship for a short 
time only. He was afterwards appointed to tlie Beaulieu, a fri- 
gate of the first class, in which he proceeded to the West Indies, 
where he distinguished himself extremely in a variety of occa- 
sions, as well on shore, as in actions with the enemy's cruisers. 
The ill condition of his health, and the climate, which was by no 
means congenial to it, compelled him, however, to return to 



182 MEMOIRS OF 

resistance of the Danes evidently became less forci- 
ble ; some of their ships were in flames, and the 
greater part of those which remained, had received 
so much damage as to be rendered almost totally in- 
capable of maintaining any longer contest : added to 
this circumstance, the carnage had been immense, 
and the situation of the wounded rendered the con- 
dition of those who still survived, truly afflicting. 

Owing either to the supposed ease with which the 
wounded might be conveyed on shore, but which 
measure was found, when too late, totally impracti- 
cable or to some unaccountable neglect, caused, 
perhaps, by an idea, which the Danes are said to 
have entertained, that the navigation was so intricate 
the British assailants would not be able to take the 
proper station for attack, no surgeons had been pre- 
viously provided ; so that when the captured vessels 
v/ere boarded by the British seamen, after their sur- 
render, the numbers of mutilated persons, then ac- 
tually bleeding to death, in consequence of the omis- 

England ; and the same course of ill-health still continuing, after 
his arrival, to operate against his acceptance of an active com- 
mand, he was appointed captain of the Princess Augusta yacht. 
Quietude, however, added to the change of climate, having re- 
established his health, and the command he then held being by- 
no means consonant to his wishes, he solicited a removal into a 
more distinguished line of service, and was accordingly appoint- 
ed to the Amazon, in 1799. In this ship he was extremely ac- 
tive, and captured many armed vessels of no mean consequence, 
in different cruises which he had made previous to his joining 
the fleet, on the expedition against Copenhagen. He fell, as 
stated in the official dispatch, on the 2d of April, 1801. Vir-f 
tus non moritur. 



LORD NELSON. 185 

sion, and from the want of proper assistance, formed 
a scene truly shocking to humanity. The moment, 
however, when all further resistance appeared rather 
as an act of rashness, than of bravery, had no sooner 
arrived, than Lord Nelson, seizing the happy oppor- 
tunity which the desperate state of the Danish line 
of defence appeared to afford him, dispatched Sir 
Frederick Thesiger with a flag of truce, proposing 
an armistice, and urging, as an inducement, that 
however dreadfully such a measure might operate on 
the feelings of his humanity, he should, if resistance 
were longer continued, be under the necessity of de- 
stroying those vessels which \vere now incapable of 
further defence, and with them the numbers of brave 
men on board, who had till then survived the encoun- 
ter, for that it could not be expected he should risk 
his own people within the line of the Danish fire, for 
the purpose of saving the Danish subjects.* The 

* The annexed correspondence took place on the occasion. 

No. 1. 
** Lord Nelson has directions to spare Denmark, when no 
longer resisting ; but if the firing is continued on the part of Den- 
mark, lord Nelson must be obliged to set on fire all the floating 
batteries he has taken, without having the power of saving the 
brave Danes who have defended them. 

" Nelson and Bronte, 
Vice-admiral under command of admiral 
*' Sir HvDE Parker. 
" Dated on board his majesty's ship Elephant, 
Copenhagen Roads, April 2, 1801. 
*' To the brothers of Englishmen, the Danes." 

No. II. 
" His royal highness the prince royal of Denmark, has sent 



184 MEMOIRS Ol- 

measure was too philanthropic not to be adopted by 
the crown prince in its fullest extent. When two 
persons, having the highest confidence in the honour 
of each other, are employed in a political deliberation 
and discussion, a single instant will almost suffice to 
arrange the preliminaries, and completely pave the 
w-ay to future tranquility ; so did the event prove in 
the present instance. On the very same afternoon, 
his lordship, now no longer an enemy to Denmark, 
landed at Copenhagen, for the pupose of adjusting 
more fully the terms for the renewal of that amity so 
long subsisting between the courts of London and 
Denmark, which had been so recently and unfortu- 
nately broken. His reception is diiferently, and in- 
deed, oppositely described ; some persons having 
insisted, that on the instant of his reaching the shore, 

me. General Adjutant Lindholra, on board to his Britannic ma- 
jesty's vice admiral, the right honorable lord Nelson, to ask the 
particular object of sending the flag of truce ?" 

No. III. 
Lord Nelson's Answer. 

*' Lord Nelson's object in sending the flag of truce was huma- 
nity ; he therefore consents that hostihties shall cease, and that 
the wounded Danes may be taken on shore, and lord Nelson will 
take his prisoners out of the vessels, and burn or carry off his 
prizes as he shall think fit. 

" Lord Nelson, with humble duty to his royal highness the 
prince of Denmark, will consider this the greatest victory he ever 
gained, if it may be the cause of a happy reconciliation and union 
between his own most gracious sovereign, and his majesty the 
king of Denmark. 

. " Nelson and Bronte. 
" On board his majesty's ship Elephant, 

« Copenhagen Roads, April 2d, 1801." 



LORD NELSON. 135 

he was greeted with the loudest acclamations, and, 
in short, that his landing rather resembled that of a 
conqueror, returning to his native shore amidst the 
reiterated acclamations of his countrymen, than that 
of an enemy, who only two hours before, was 
spreading destruction and desolation over the city. 

On the other hand, it has been asserted that the 
treatment he experienced, though far diflferent, was 
such as might naturally have been expected, allow- 
ing for the circumstances under which it took place ; 
that the populace at first hardly conducted themselves 
with sufficient temper, but almost forgetting the laws 
of hospitality, and the high character his lordship 
then bore in a public point of view, received him 
with a sullen silence, which was not prevented, with- 
out the greatest difficulty, from bursting into a flame, 
by the spirited exertions of the noblesse. 

Between these two opposite statements the truth 
may, as is generally the fact in all similar cases, most 
probably be found. To have expected a conduct 
like that first stated, would be to attribute to the 
Danes a levity and impropriety of character they cer- 
tainly do not possess. It would have been unnatural 
to have supposed a people could enthusiastically greet 
as a friend the man who had just directed a contest, in 
which the greater part of them had probably experi- 
enced the loss of some amongst their dearest con- 
nexions. 

It is most probable, the behaviour of the people 
toward the victor was silent and reserved ; it is na- 
tural to conclude that it was so ; they beheld with 
admiration, and even astonishment, the man who 
25 



185 MEMOIRS OF 

in the space of a few hoars had overcome every* 
difficulty and obstacle, which the best officers in their 
service had exerted their utmost skill in presenting to 
an enemy, and which their own bravery had contri- 
buted its best efforts to render sufficient and ef- 
fectual. 

The Danish accounts candidly admit their dis- 
comfiture ; and as this truth was strongly impressed 
on the minds of the people, it could not fail perhaps 
to sour the temper of the worsted, when they beheld 
the man whom they were obliged to consider as a 
conqueror, passing through them, not as the herald 
and promoter of peace, but, for any thing they knew 
to the contrary, in the imperious character of a 
haughty ambassador, commissioned to prescribe such 
terms as he thouglit fit, to the vanquished. In this, 
however, they were mistaken, and though his lord- 
ship's entrance into the metropolis of his recent ene- 
my, resembled not the triumph of an emperor, for 
the conquest of a country, it bore a strict analogy to 
the ovation of a Roman general, who had put a sud- 
den and unexpected period to the ravages of war.* 

* The annexed series of private accounts, given by Individu- 
als, both of Britain and Denmark, together with the official do- 
cuments published under the authority of the government of the 
latter country, will shew, that no material exaggeration can have 
been used on eitlier side ; it is a just tribute to a candi and ge- 
nerous enemy, to proclaim and prove this fact. 

" On the morning of March the 30th, about seven o'clock, the 
thundering peals of Cronburg put an end to suspense. Very 
shortly after, we could discern the fleet, which approached ra- 
pidly. The tremendous cannonading from the fort gave us an 
idea of what it might elFect, if it could reach its object. His 



LORD NELSON. 187 

A carriage having been provided for the convey- 
ance of his lordship to the palace, it met him at the 

majesty of Sweden who observed the passage of the fleet from 
Helsingberg, appeared sensible of this ; and after the cannonad- 
ing had ceased, dispatched an officer to compliment the governor 
of Cronburg. 

"As the gale was blowing fresh, the British soon advanced 
within seven or eight miles of the city, where they came to an 
anchor. A frigate, a lugger, and a brig, got, rather nearer j 
but the battery of the three crowns, and the fire from the block- 
ships, compelled them to retire. The magnificence of this spec- 
tacle naturally left various impressions on our minds ; but whe- 
ther favourable or unfavourable, they were soon forgotten in the 
enthusiasm and unanimity which prevailed among all classes. 
The question was not, Who is the enem^ ? but Where is the enemy ? 
It was a moment of impending danger ; the duty we owed our 
country, therefore, inspired us with only one sentiment. The 
noble spirit displayed by the students at tlae siege in 1658 — 60, 
was equally conspicuous in their successors ; who, with one 
hand and one heart, associated themselves into a corps of twelve 
hundred ; while those sons of the muses, whom age and infirm- 
ity prevented from rallying round the standard of patriotism, did 
all in their power to encourage and conhna su laudible an effort. 
Chamberlain Lindenkrone sent a thousand dollars to the aid of 
those students whose private means were unequal to the expense 
of their public duties. 

« The first and second days passed quietly over ; but on the 
morning of April 1st, we could perceive an unusual bustle among 
the English shipping. Some frigates and lighter vessels got un- 
der weigh, and were employed in sounding. Towards evening, 
twelve sail of the line, all the frigates and most of the smaller 
vessels, weighed ; and with a northern breeze passed through the 
Hollander Deep. Admiral Parker, with eight sail of the line, and 
two small vessels, preserved his station ; while Admiral Nelson 
anchored, with his division,beyond the fire of our outermost ships. 

" Conjecture was now at an end, A change of wind to the 



188 MEMOIRS OF 

shore for that purpose. It was owing merely to the 
suddenness of his visit, that one of the royal equi- 

southward would enable Lord Nelson to bear down with his di- 
vision ; and we anxiously awaited the awful moment. Our ships 
were moored with four anchors, and manned, indiscriminately, 
by people of all descriptions, hastily collected for the present 
emergency ; they had been constantly on the alert during the for- 
mer two nights, a third was now added to their fatigue; and when 
it is considered, that these people were unacquainted with the ex- 
ercise of great guns ; that they were all day employed in practis- 
ing, and all night in watching ; the compliment paid them by- 
Mr. Bardenfleth, first lieutenant on board the Charlotte Amelia, 
in his professional account of tlae battle, will not be deemed su- 
perfluous. 

" He says, " the spirit which animated all hands on board, and 

not their real strength, enabled them to perform what they did." 

*' The morning of April 2d dawned, and the wind blowing 
southerly, our commodore made a signal for the whole line to 
lay their broadside to the enemy. 

" Between nine and ten, both divisions of the British weighed 5 
and our commodore hoisted the flag of defiance from tlie Dan- 
nebrog. Admiral Parker, with the zpal tliat is characteristic of 
a British seamen, heat ujj against wind and current, towards the 
battery of the Three Crowns, proposing to awe our ships in the in- 
ner roads, while the hero of the Nile bore right down upon our line. 

*' The Edgar led the British van, advancing in a most gallant 
style against the Provesteen, of 58 guns, which opened her fire 
on the former, five minutes after ten. The Vagrien, of 50 guns, 
then poured in a broadside, just as tlie Edgar was upon the tack 
to take her station ; a second broadside was discharged from the 
jProvesteen, when the whole of the British line gained rapidly 
on ours : in a few minutes two-third parts of our ships were in 
action. As our line was not broken, only one half of the force 
on either side was consequently engaged. 

*' Our foremost ship, the Provesteen, was exposed during the 
whole of the action, to the fire of the Polyphemus, of 64 guns, the 



LORD NELSON. 189 

pages was not sent for his accommodation. His 
lordship, however, had too great a soul to wait, on 

Russel and the Bellona, which two latter ships run aground at the 
commencement of the battle ; butthis misfortune (as LordNelson 
observed) did not impede their service. The Provesteen was, at 
the same time, raked by la Deslree, of 40 guns, and a gun-brig. 

*' Great as was the distinction which Commodore Fischer, in 
report, conferred on the Provesteen and her gallant Captain Las- 
sen, ** notwithstanding my high sense of Danish bravery, it was 
heightened by the conduct of the Provesteen, which continutd 
to fight till all her guns were dismounted," the compliment by 
Lord Nelson is, in my opinion, greater. f 

*' Captain Rusbrigh stood, on this occasion, as undaunted upon 
the quarler-deck of the Vagrien, as when a lieutenant on board 
the Formidable, under the gallant Rodney, on the 12th of April, 
17B2. For England he assisted to acquire glory and success j 
for Denmark he obtained only the former. 

** Soon after eleven o'clock the Dannebrog, of Gl guns. Captain 
Braun, took fire, which compelled Commodore Fischer to shift 
Jiis broad pendant to the Holstein ; but Braun continued to fight 
her till he lost his right hand. Captain Lemning succeeded in 
the command ; and although the flames blazed around them, 
threatening immediate destruction, the Dannebrog maintained 
her fire till the close of the engagement, against her powerful ad- 
versary the Glatton, which latter mounted 68 pound carronades 
on her lower deck. 

" When Commodore Fischer, famed for the coolness and per- 
spicuity of his judgment in the hour of trial, left the Dannebrog, 
the battle raged wiih the utmost fury. The British finding that 
pur foremost ships were far from slackening their fire, now ex- 
tended their line, and at noon all our ships, as well as the battery, 
were strenuously engaged in the awful contest. 

t Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, being subdued, which is expected to happen at an 
early period, the Isis and Agamemnon are to cut their cables, and immedi- 
ately make sail, and take their station ahead of the Polyphemu% in order 
to support that part of the line. 



199 MEMOIRS OF 

SO pressing an occasion, for the empty pageantry 
and form of a regular conveyance, but proceeded 

"Captain Thura,of the Infoedsretten, of 64 guns, fell at the be- 
ginning of the action ; and all the subaltern officers were either 
killed or wounded, except a lieutenant and a marine officer. In 
this state of confusion, the colours v/ere, by accident, struck. The 
British, however, made no attempt to board the Infoedsretten, she 
being rather dangerously moored athwart our battery, a boat was 
dispatched from the ship to carry the tidings of her commander's 
death to die prince royal, who had from the dawn of day taken his 
station upon a battery. Here, amidst showers of shells and can- 
non balls, Frederick, the wise, the good, and the brave, superin- 
tended calmly and actively, for the assistance of the ships engaged. 
By shewing how a prince ought to meet danger, he taught others 
to despise it. 

"When tlie Prince received the message from the Infoedsretten, 
he turned round, and with an air that gave confidence to all about 
him, said, " Gentlemen, Thura is killed ; who of you will take 
the command :" — " I will," replied Mr. Schrocdersee, in a feeble 
voice, and hastened eagerly on board. This gentleman had been 
a captain in the navy ; but on account of ill-health had lately re- 
signed. The hour of necessity seemed to invigorate his wasted 
form, and in hopes to serve his country, he forgot his want of 
strength. 

*' The crew seeing a new commander coming alongside, hoisted 
their colours and fired a broadside. When he came on deck he 
found great numbers killed and wounded ; and therefore instantly 
called to those that had rowed him to get quickly on board. It 
was his last effort ; a ball struck him, and Schroedersee was no 
more ! Mr. Nissen a lieutenant in the navy, who attended this gal- 
lant Tar to his noble fate, next took the command, and continued 
to fight the ship for the remainder of the day. 

*'The engagement had now lasted upwards of three hours,with- 
out any glimpse of victory on either side. A determined perse- 
verance appeared to inflame both parties. Our line steadfastly 
preserved its original position, and every ship maintained its sta- 



LORD NELSON. 191 

tlirongli the streets with his best haste, while the 
people thronged around him, eager to catch a single 

tion except the Rendsbrog Frame, which drove ashore^ her ca- 
bles having been shot away at the commencement of the attack ; 
and the Elven, a repeating sloop of war, which had sheered off a 
little after twelve, her masts being very materially damaged. 

*' When the British fleet first bore down upon us, the eleven 
gun-boats retired. 

" About two o'clock the fire from the respective fleets abated 
considerably, and our ships appeared very much disabled. The 
damage sustained by the British was apparently trivial, from our 
ships having constantly directed their fire at the enemy's hulls. 
This was undoubtedly the slowest metliod of disabling an ad- 
versary ; yet it was the surest j and certainly is, at all events, 
preferable to chance. , 

** Considering the exposed situation of our men on board, it was 
a matter of real surprize that so few, comparatively, suffered from 
theimmense quantity of shot which had been poured in upon them. 

*' Had every ball that struck our masts wounded our hulls, 
there would, in all probability, have been no prisoners of war. 

** At two o'clock the Nyeborg Frame having her main, miz- 
zen-masts, bow-sprit, and foretop-mast shot away, and the cap- 
tain perceiving her almost ready to sink, ordered the cables to 
be cut, and the foresail to be set, that they might steer for the 
inner roads. As he passed the line he descried the Aggurshuus, 
a vessel of the same description as his own, in the most misera- 
ble plight ; her masts having all gone by the board, and the hull 
on the eve of sinking. Captain Rothe shewed himself a true sea- 
man, who not only meets his own danger, but also cheerfully 
shares in that of others. Having made fast a cable from 
his stem to the stem of the Aggershuus, he towed her off; and 
thus obtained as glorious a triumph as if he had come In with an 
enemy's ship. 

** Soon after two o'clock. Commodore Fischer removed his 
broad pendant from the Holstein to the battery of the Three 
Crowns whence he commanded during the latter part of the en- 
gagement. 



192 MEMOIRS OF 

glimpse of the extraordinary person who was come 
among them. 

"At this moment Lieutenant Llllienskiol J finding his ship, the 
Hielpcren, surrounded by a superior force, cut his cables, anc? 
brought her safe into the inner roads. Mr. Lillienskiold was no 
stranger to the business of tlie day ; he had, in the year 1799, 
fought in the West-Indies with a privateer ; and both contended 
so obstinately, that they were obliged to separate for want of 
powder. 

" Last, though not least, is Mr. Villemoes, a second lieuten- 
ant, who commanded the floating battery. No. 1. Much has 
been said about his skill in manceuvering his raft, which consist- 
ed merely of a number of beams nailed together ; on them a 
flooring was laid to support the guns. It was square with 
breast work, full of port holes and without masts I shall not 
take upon myself to argue how far it were possible to manage 
such a log ; but merely say, the manner in which Villemoes ma- 
nceuvered his guns and ultimately saved his raft, attracted the 
notice of Lord Nelson, whose ship lay for some time opposite 
the floating battery. That admiral is said, in the handsomest 
manner, to have noticed to the prince royal, how much the coun- 
try, on future occasions, might fairly expect from the abilities 
of young Villemoes. This trait of his lordship I consider as a 
never failing flower in the wreatii which military talents and suc- 
cess have twined around his brows. 

" At half past two our fire had nearly subsided ; but the Rut- 
land, the last ship that returned the enemy's shot, was still en- 
gaged, as was the Provesteen. However, tlie Three Crowns 
had just opened its batteries with a dreadful effect, when the 
white flag was unfurled from Lord Nelson's main- top. 

"An English boat, with a flag of truce, came alongside the Ele- 
phant ; the captain of which sent an ofiicer in his boat to accom- 
pany it on shore. The battery, in the mean time kept up a heavy 
cannonade, as did the Elephant. As the wind had been south 
south-west, south and south-east, the whole day, with a strong 
current, admiral Parker's division advanced but very little j inso- 



LORD NELSON. 193 

It is necessary to make a short digression in this 
place, for the purpose of offering a few observa- 

much, that a broadside from the Ramillles, a T'i-j (his foremost 
ship) fell very short of the battery. 

The flag of truce having delivered a dispatch to the Prince 
Royal, returned ; and soon afterwards orders were sent to die 
commander of the battery to cease firing ; their guns had, in the 
interval, been pointed with the iitmost effect on the Monarcn and 
Ganges, which ships were awkwardly situated on the shoal of the 
battery. 

Two flags were tlien dispatched from shore, to Admirals 
Parker and Nelson ; while the British took possession of eleven 
of our ships. 

In the course of the forenoon Admiral Nelson came in his barge 
into the inner roads, and went on board of the Denmark where he 
partook of some refreshment, and then proceeded ashore. On 
his landing he was received by the people neither with acclama- 
tions nor with murmurs ; they did not degrade themselves VPith 
the former, nor disgrace themselves with tlie latter. The Admi- 
ral was received as one brave enemy ever ought to receive anoth- 
er — he was received with respect. A carriage was provided for 
his lordship, which he however declined, and walked amidst an 
immense crowd of persons anxious to catch a glimpse of the 
British hero, to the palace of the Prince Royal. After dinner 
the Admiral was introduced to the Prince, and the negociations 
commenced. The next day his lordship came again on shore, 
and dined with tlie Prince Royal, as he did frequently till the 
ninth of April, when tlie armistice was finally concluded. 

On one of his visits to Copenhagen, Lord Nelson inspected 
our Naval Academy ; to which he, in a manner highly honour- 
able to himself and tons, presented some gold medals of value> 
to be distributed among the most skilful of the midshipmen. 

Letter from the Royal College of Commerce at Copenhagen, 
dated the 4th of April, 1801, to M. M. Muldrup and Salveson, 
his Danish Majesty's Consuls for Scotland, residing at Leith. 

26 



194 MEMOIRS OF 

tions on the conduct of his lordship ; which, immate- 
rial as it may seem, has given birth to some contro- 

" Gentlemen, 

"We judge it necessary to make you acquainted with the ac- 
tual situation of our affairs, as well for your government, as for 
the information of those of our nation who may be at present in 
your consulage district. 

" You must have heard tliat a British fleet of fifty-four sail, 
under the command of Admirals Sir Hyde Parker and Lord 
Nelson, had proceeded to the straits of the Sound, with an inten- 
tion to enter the Baltic. The fleet actually appeared, and havmg 
advanced towards Cronenberg, Admiral Parker declared to the 
commandant tliat hostilities would commence, upon which the 
fleet began to pass the fortress on the 30th of March, exposed to 
an obstinate fire from our batteries, which was returned with 
equal spirit, but without material damage to either party, as the 
fleet kept so close to the Swedish side, that it was with difficulty 
our balls could reach them. After having cleared the straits the 
British formed themselves In aline, in sight of our floating batte- 
ries, and the ships placed for our defence at the entrance of our 
port. There they remained tranquil until the evening of the 1st 
instant, when they assumed a more threatening position. On the 
following day, 2d of April, at half past ten o'clock in the morn- 
ing, the most bloody and obstinate engagement took place in our 
roads that has ever been rerhembered. Our sailors have gained 
themselves honour and glory, and if the force of defence had 
been equal to that of attack, the success would have been doubt- 
ful ; but, after five hours fighting, the most of our crews were 
either killed or wounded, the ships much shattered, and the float- 
ing batteries dismounted, so that it became at last necessary to 
yield to superior force, at least triple to that which we could em- 
ploy at the point of defence. The right wing of our defence was 
broken through by Nelson's squadron ; some of our floating bat- 
teries, and ships of inferior size, have fallen into the hands of the 
enemy. Before the engagement had seriously commenced with 
the fleet under Admiral Parker's orders, Nelson sent a flag of 



LORD NELSON. 195 

versy and literary dispute. The most general, 
established opinion, even among the Danes them- 

truce to propose a suspension of hostilities, in order to transport 
the wounded on shore, which was agreed to, and the suspension 
of armshas heen prolonged, andhostilitieshavenot yet recommen- 
ced. Nelson was on shore yesterday, and a negotiation is at pre- 
sent going forward, and every thing for the moment tranquil. 
We do not know precisely how much the enemy have suffered, 
nor the number of their slain ; but, according to information from 
some of their officers, their ships have been considerably dama- 
ged, and their loss of men very numerous. 

" This, gentlemen, is the result of a day ever memorable to 
Denmark, and honourable for the intrepidity and bravery of our 
•warriors, whose conduct even the enemy has allowed to have 
been most glorious. Make these facts known to their country- 
men, and inform them at the same time, that we shall not fail to 
acquaint them of the ultimate result of these events. 

(Signed) « ScHIMMELMA^f, 

" schested, 
^' Schmidt, 
** Phisseldeck, &c." 

Correct particulars of the action ofF Copenhagen, frorai a pri- 
vate hand. 

« In my last, of the SOth of March, I informed you of the in^ 
tention of our fleet to pass Elsineur castle the first fair wind : it 
came on that very day. We weighed anchor, formed the line, 
and stood past it with all sail set ; during the time we were pas- 
sing, a very heavy fire was kept up by the enemy, but none of 
our ships received a shot. The Swedes, very fortunately, did 
not engage us at all : we were not above a mile from their guns, 
as we kept their shore on board, to be out of the Danes' gun- 
shot ; in the mean time we had several bomb-ships firing on their 
town ; the shells which they fired killed one hundred and sixty 
people ashore at Elsineur. 

« The whole fleet soon came to anchor off Copenhagen, and 
iawnediately after Sir Hyde Parker, Lof d Nelson, Captain Free- 



196 MEMOIRS OK 

selves, is, that at the time the flag of truce was 
dispatched, any further attempt to protract resistance 

jnantle, Colonel Stewart, and the captains of tlie fleet, all went in 
a lugger to reconnoitre the enemy's force here : they soon open- 
ed a heavy fire on them, but they persevered in sounding, &c. 
till they were satisfied, and then came away. 

" On :he 31st of March we weighed, and stood close in. On 
the 1st of April, Lord Nelson having found out a new channel, 
by which he could come at the enemy v/ith more advantage, the 
ships that were ordered to put themselves immediately under his 
command, weighed and stood through the new found channel, 
and a very intricate one it is : in the afternoon we anchored with- 
in reach of the shells of the enemy, which, you may be assured, 
we were not long looking for. They fired on us somet part of 
the night without doing any damage — several fell very near us. 

*' I have now to recount to you the particulars of the action 
fought so gloriously on the 2d of April, under the command of 
Sir Hyde Parker, though more directly under the valiant Nel- 
son, whose flag was flying on board the Elephant, of 74- guns, in 
the centre of the line engaged. I believe for the want of water 
nearly one half of the line of battle ships were not able to go the 
way we did to get upon the enemy, but were, however, to come 
up the common channel, by which they would have joined us. 
The channel forms nearly a crescent ; and, consequently, the 
wind that was fair for us under lord Nelson, who were at one 
end of this channel, must be contrary for the ships under Sir 
Hyde Parker at the other. Every thing possible was apparently 
done by that scjuadron to make a junction ; but the engagement, 
which lasted three hours and a half, with the victory achieved, 
was finished just at the time I supposed them one gun-shot and a 
half from the enemy. 

" As I apprehended you would wish for the particulars, I shall 
give them, with the occurrences, as nearly as possible. I had a 
watch about me all the time, and v/as stationed on the poop. A. 
M. lOh. and 20m. answered the signal to weigh, and at lOh. 
50m. tlie Edgar, being the leading ship of the line, received 



LORD NELSON. 197 

would have been an act of folly, if not phrenzy. 
The line of naval defence was completely broken, 

from, and immediately opened a brisk fire upon the enemy. At 
1 Ih. the Elephant, vice-admiral lord Nelson, passed us in the 
line of battle ; weighed anchor, and stood after her, being station- 
ed next ship to the admiral. At 1 Ih. 15m. opened our fire on 
the enemy; observed the Bellona and Isis aground. At llh. 
25m. passed the admiral, who hailed and desired us to bring to 
close a-head of him ; let go the stern anchor ; wind right aft 
during the time the line was inverting, by which the headmost 
became the sternmost ship to anchor ; a very heavy fire was car- 
ried on both by the enemy and us ; but when every ship had an- 
chored in her station, it became astonishingly so. 

*' About five minutes before we anchored, our master was kil- 
led, and the pilot almost so, by one shot. At Ih. 20m. P. M. 
Admiral Nelson sent an officer onboard, to say the Danish Ad- 
miral had struck : at this time, as at several others, tliree cheers 
were given. The Danish admiral was supposed to be nearly 
abreast of the Elephant, at a distance of half a mile j we a-head' 
of the Elephant, and the Monarch next a-head of us : Ih. 50m. 
observed four of the enemy's vessels with their colours struck. 

" At three o'clock the admiral weighed or cut, and passed us ; 
cut away our stem anchor, and made sail after the admiral. The 
fleet in general at this time moved off to another anchorage. — • 
The very formidable fort of the crown, and several others along 
shore, were firing at the fleet all the latter part of the engage- 
ment. The Bellona and Isis were ashore within gun-shot of the 
enemy, the wkole time ; the Russel and Agamemnon, two of 
pur squadron ashore clear of the enemy's shot. In coming out, 
the Elephant, the Defence, and Ardent, got ashore, the marks 
having all been taken up by the enemy, in a very difficult chan- 
nel. They are all now off, and joined Sir Hyde Parker again. 

" Soon after the action, flags of truce passed bt-tween us — i 
Lord Nelson yesterday went ashore to Copenhagen (as we were 
all under a truce) and had an audience with the Danish nic 
narch. 



193 



MEMOIRS OF 



nnd destroyed, many of the vessels were totally dis- 
abled, and the remainder were then burning, or in 

•* The enemy's ships were moored in a line of great extent . 
along the channel, and it was thought by the Danes to be impos- 
sible to take, or pass them. The loss on board our squadron is 
very considerable, but nothing to be compared with that of the 
enemy. I hear that some of their ships were manned two or 
three times. 

" They do not know how many people they had, as they were 
fairly forced out of the streets of Copenhagen, and put on board. 
We have had no proper returns yet, but I have sent you a list of 
the prizes. We were the luckiest line of battle-ship in the action, 
in our loss of men, but are most shockingly cut up in masts and 
|-igging. Lord Nelson never knew, he says, such a ship in his 
life, her sides in a constant blaze with firing, and the men at the 
same time always a cheering, I have only to say, our prizes be- 
ing chiefly hulks, and their hulls most marvelously shot to pieces, 
we shall be obliged to destroy the most of them ; but there are 
eleven fine new seventy-four's in the harbour, which we must 
soon have. We likewise expect to meet the Russian fleet very 
soon, and have no doubt of serving them, as we have done the 
Danes. There were twenty-three sail engaged, eighteen of which 
we completely conquered in the short space of tune mentioned. 

LIST OF DANISH SHIPS TAKEN. 



Ships. 


Guns. 


Ships. 


Guns 


Wagner, 


. 50 


Shark, 


28 


Albesteen, 


- 64. 


Charlotte- Amelia, 


96 


Rensberg, 


- 34 


Holstein, 


64 


Jutland, 


- 50 


Seahorse, 


20 


Cronenberg, - 


- 26 


Provesteen, - 


64 


Sperseris, 


- 18 







One sunk, one burnt ; since also, one sunk, one burnt, three 
destroyed, aground, names unknown. 



LORD NELSON. I99 

the bands, at least they were in the absolute power, 
of the British ; the Crown batteries had received 

Danish Account of the Engagement. 
The following is the official account of the same naval en- 
gagement, transmitted to his Royal Highness the Crown Prince, 
by the commander in chief, Oltert Fischer : 

" On the first of April, at half past tliree in the afternoon, 
two divisions of the English fleet, under the command of Vice- 
Admiral Lord Nelson, and a Rear-Admiral, weighed anchor, 
and stood eastward, and by the south of the middle passage of 
the road, \yhere they anchored. This force consisted of twelve 
ships of the line, and several large frigates, gun-boats, and other 
smaller vessels ; in all, thirty-one sail. 

" On the 2d of April, at three quarters past nine in the morn- 
ing, the wind S. E. both of the vessels to the south, and the 
vessels to the north of the middle road, weighed anchor. The 
ships of the line and heavy frigates under Lord Nelson, 
steered for the Konigstiefe, to take their stations in order along 
the line of defence, confided to me. The gun-boats and small ves- 
sels took their stations near the town, and the division of Admi- 
ral Parker, consisting of eight ships of the line and some small 
vessels, steered with a press of sail southwards to the right ^^'ing 
of defence. 

«* At half past ten, the foremost ship of Admiral Nelson's divi- 
sion passed the southernmost ship of the line of defence. I gave 
those ships that were within shot, the signal for battle. The block 
ships, Provesteen and Wagner, and immediately after these tlie 
•Jutland, between wliich and the block ship Dannebrog, the lead- 
ing English ship (of 74- guns) fixed her station by throwing out 
one of her rear anchors, obeyed the signal by a well directed and 
well supported fire. By degrees the rest of the ships came up, 
and as they sailed past on both sides of the ships already at an- 
chor, they formed a thick line, which, as It stretched northward 
to the ship of the line, the Zealand, engaged not more than two- 
thirds of the line of defence committed to me, while the Three 
Crowns Battery, and the block ships, Elephant and Mars, with 
the frigate Hielperen, did not come at all into the action. 



200 MEMOIRS OF 

considerable injury, insomuch that they could not 
have withstood any serious attack. Many ships in 

" In half an hour the battle was general. Ten ships of the 
line, among which was one of eighty guns, tlie rest chiefly seven- 
ty-four's, and from six to eight frigates on the one side. On the 
other, seven block ships, of which only one of seventy-four, the 
rest of sixiy-four and under, two frigates, and six small vessels. 
This was the respective strength of the two parties. The eneftiy 
had, on the whole, two ships to one ; and the block ship, Pro- 
vcsteen, had, besides a ship of tlie line, and the Rear-Adrtiiral, 
two frigates against her, by which she was raked the whole time, 
without being able to return a shot. 

" If I only i-ecapitulate historically what your highness, and 
along with you a great portion of the citizens of Denmark and 
Europe have seen, I may venture to call that an unequal combat* 
which was maintained and supported for four hours and a half 
with unexampled courage and effect. In which the fire of the su- 
perior force was so much weakened for an hour before the end 
of the battle, that several English ships, and particularly Lord 
Nelson's were obliged to fire only single shots ; tliat this hero 
himself, in the middle and very heat of the battle, sent a flag of 
truce on shore to propose a cessation of hostilities ; if I also add, 
that it was announced to me that two English ships of the line 
had struck, but being supported by fresh ships, again hoisted 
their flags; I may, in such circumstances, be permitted \o say, 
and I believe I may appeal to the enemy's own confession, that 
in this engagement Denmark's ancient naval reputation blazed 
forth with such incredible splendour, that, I thank heaven, all 
Europe are the witnesses of it. 

" Yet the scale, if not equal, did not decline far to the disad- 
vantage of Denmark. The ships that were first and most obsti- 
nately attacked, even surrounded by the enemy, the incompara* 
ble Provesteen fought till almost all her guns were dismounted ; 
but these vessels were obliged to give way to superior force, and 
the Danish fire ceased along the whole line from North to South. 

♦' At half past eleven, the Danucbrog ship of the line, which 



LOUD NELSON. 201 

the British line, it cannot be disputed, had sustained 
very material damage ; but, there were still re- 
lay along side Admiral Nelson, was set on fire. I repaired, with 
my flag, on board the Holstein, of the line, belonging to the 
north wing ; but the Dannebrog long kept her flag flying in 
spite of this disaster. At the end of the battle she had two hun- 
dred and seventy men killed and wounded. 

" At half past two, the Holstein was so shattered, and had so 
many men killed and wounded, and so many guns dismounted, 
that I then carried the pennant to be hoisted instead of my flag, 
and went on shore to the battery of the Three Crowns, from 
which I commanded the north wihg, which was slightly engag- 
ed wltli tlie division of Admiral Parker, till about four o'clock, 
when I received orders from your Royal Highness to put an end 
to the engagement. 

" Thus the quarter of the line of defence, from the Three 
Crowns to the frigate Hielperen, was in the power of the ene- 
my : and the Hielperen finding herself alone, slipped her cables 
and steered to Stirbfeir. The ship Elwin, after she had received 
many shots in the hull, and had her masts and rigging shot 
away, and a great number killed and wounded, retreated within 
The Crowns. The gun-boats, Nyebrog and Aggershuus, whicli 
last towed the former away, when near sinking, ran ashore ; and 
the Gurnarshe floating battery, which had suffered much, to- 
gether with the block- sliip Dannebrog, shortly after the battle 
blew up. 

" Besides the visible loss the enemy have suffered, I am 
convinced their loss in killed and wounded is considerable. The 
advantage the enemy have gained by their victory too, consists 
merely in ships which arc not fit for use, in spiked cannon, and 
gun-powder damaged by sea-water. 

" The number killed and wounded cannot yet be exactly ascer- 
tained : but I calculate it from IG to 1800 men. Among the 
former it is with grief tliat I mention the captain of the block- 
ship, Infoedsratten, and the frigate Cronenberg, captain Thura, 
and first lieutenant Hauch> with several other brave oflicers. 

27 



202 MEMOIRS OP 

maining, a sufficient number of them to present a: 
new and formidable line of attack, much nearer to 

Among the wounded, the commander of the Dannebrog, who 
besides other wounds has lost his right hand. 

** I want expressions to do justice to the unexampled courage 
of tlie officers and crew. The battle itself can only enable you 
to form an idea of it. " Olfert Fischer.'* 

The annexed list of the Danish naval force, as opposed to the 
British fleet, under the command of Vice- Admiral Lord Nelson, 
in the memorable engagement off Copenhagen, being copies of 
3 pamphlet published in that city, in the English language, soon 
after the action, will very appropriately close the account. 

No. I. 
Ships' Names. Description. Com. No. Guns. Men. Remarks. 

r- Taken and burnt j 

Provesteen, Block-ship, Cant. Lassen, 1 56 515 4 Jf*''"^''^^" ^'^^^" 
*^ ' ' I the guns were 

L useless. 

Vagrlen, Ditto, {^Sigh^l^ 48 361 Ditto. 

r Driven on the 
Rensborg, Praam, Capt. Lt. Egedc, 3 20 216 < shoals and burnt 

(_ by the enemy. 

'Nyebrog, Ditto, Capt.Lt.Rothe, 4 20 209 5 ^^^"P^^ ^,^*^*'- 

^ ^ (^ wards sunk, 

lylland. Block- ship Capt. Brandt. 5 48 sgeS^^^'-^^'i'Sincebumt 

^ 1 1 ♦ ^ by the enemy. 

»Suerfisken, Radeau, ^^^' 1°™/''^'''? 6 20 117 Taken ditto. 
Shronborg, Blockship, Lieut. Hauch, 7 22 196 Taken, ditto. 
*Hagen, Radeau, Lieut. Moller, 8 20 155 Taken, ditto. 

r Caught fire and 
Dannebrog, Block-ship, Capt. F. Brown, 9 63 336 < blew up after the 

(_ action. 

Elven, p.™^'J;g^^^'-JLt.Holsteen,10 6 80 Escaped. 

*Grenier's Radeau, No. l.Lt.Villemoes, 11 24 120 Ditto. 

Aggershuus, Praam, Lt. 1 asting, 12 20 213 T ^''^^J'' ^^''^'"'^'^'''^■^ 

r Driven by the 
I waves under the 

Svaland,ShipoftheUue,Capt. Harboe, 13 74 539 J J'-ei^roner bat- 

*^ ' I tery, and taken 

I after the armis- 

1 tice, since burnt. 



LORD NELSON. 203 

the town, than that which had been occupied in the 
first instance : added to this circumstance, the divi- 

Charlotte-Amella, Block-ship, C. Koford, 14 26 225 ^ '^^^'^^'^^^'j^'J^^^^^'^^''' 

Sohesten, Radeau, Lt. Middlebo, 15 18 126 Ditto. 

■ Taken, and put In 
sailing condi- 
tion by the ene- 
my, an'd carried 
away as a tro- 
phy- 

Infoedstratten, Block-ship, Gapt. Thura, 17 64 390 5" Ta^ken.afterwards 

Hielperen, Frigate, 5 [^,^j^i^old,* '5 ^^ '^^ ^^^ Escaped. 

628 4849 
The force remaining in the road to defend the harbour, under 
the orders of chamberlain Stein Bille : 



Holstein, Ship of the line, C. Arenfeldt, 16 60 400 « 



Ship's Names. 


Description. 


Commanders. 


No. 


Guns 


Elephanten, 


Block-ship, 


Capt. Von. Thura, 


19 


70 


Mars, 


Ditto, 


Capt. Gyldenfeldt, 


20 


64, 


Dannemark, 


Ship of the line, 


Chamber. Stein Bille, 


21 


74 


Trekroner, 


Ditto, 


Capt. Riegelsten, 


22 


74 


Ins, 


Frigate, 


Capt. W. Brown, 


2.3 


40 


Sarpen, 


Brig, 




— 


IS 




Nodelven, 


Brig, 


> 


— 


IS 



Twelve chebecks, each of two 24 pounders ; two of ditto, of 
12 pounders ; the great Trekroner battery, of thirty 24- pounders ; 
ditto, thirty-eight 36 pounders, and one 96 pounder carronade, 
provided with three furnaces to heat balls. 

The ships and vessels marked * were placed a little behind the 
others, on account of their weakness ; but in the evening of the 
1st of April, Commodore Fischer seeing the great number of the 
enemy, ordered them to come into the line. 

It can be easily perceived, that this defension was to answerno 
other end, tlian to keep a wise enemy at too great a distance to 
bombard the town, or to make an audacious enemy so great a 
resistance, as would cost them many men and endanger their 
ships in such a degree as to render their future proceedings of 
little consequence. 



204 MEMIORS OF 

sion still remaining under the orders of Sir Hyde 
Parker, had never been in action ; the ships which 

The result lias answered these expectations. The enemy fak- 
ing advantage of the defension being immoveable, attacked the 
v/eakest part thereof ; but were so warmly received, and met with 
such a long and unexpected resistance, that they preferred ne- 
gotiation to hostility. 

No. 2. 
SOUTH WING OF DEFENSION. 
What state the ships were in, which composed the line of defen- 
sion, with the number of guns, and weight of metal each ship 
carried. 

Provesteen. — An old three decker, cut down to two decks, 
dismantled and condemned ; twenty- eight guns of 36 pounders, 
and twenty-eight of 24 pounders. 

Vagiven. — An old two decker, quarter deck cut down, con- 
demned ; all her guns of twenty-four pounders. 

Rendsbrog. — An old praam for the transport of cavalry, with 
masts and sails, her guns of twenty-four pounders. 

Nyebrog. — Ditto, completely rigged, her guns of twenty- 
four pounders. 

Iv LLAND. — An old two decker, condemned ; without poop or 
masts. Twenty four guns of twenty-four pounders, and 24 of 
12 pounders. 

SuERFisKEN — Square floating battery with masts ; the guns 
of eighteen pounders. 

Kronbrog. — An old condemned frigate, cut down and dis- 
mantled ; the guns of twenty-four pounders. 

Hag UN. — A battery like the Suerfisken ; the guns of eighteen 
pounders. 

Dannebrog. — An old condemned two decker, cut down and 
dismantled ; the guns, twenty-four of 24 pounders, twenty-four 
of 22 pounders, and fourteen of 8 pounders. 

Elven. — A small repeating vessel rigged ; the guns of twen- 
ty-four pounders. 



LORD NELSON. 205 

composed it were entirely fresli, while the Danes 
on their part had no effective opposition to offer, 

Grenier's Float. — Old, and without masts ; the guns of 
twenty-four pounders. 

Aggers Huus. — An old cavalry transport, without masts or 
sails , her guns of twenty-four pounders. 

Sy^elland. — A two decker condemned and unrigged ;the 
guns, thirty of 24 pounders, thirty of 18 pounders, and fourteen 
of 8 pounders. 

Charlotte Amelia. — A condemned Indiaman ; condemned 
r.nd dismantled ; the guns of twenty-four pounders. 

GoHESTEN. — A battery like the Suerfisken ; the guns of 
twenty-four pounders. 

HoLSTEiN. — A two decker newly repaired, and able to serve 
for twelve years ; the guns, twenty-four of Si pounders, twenty- 
four of 12 pounders, and twelve of 8 pounders. 

Infoedstratten. — An old condemned two decker, cut down 
and dismantled ; tv/enty-six guns of 24 pounders, twenty-six of 
12 pounders, and twelve of 8 pounders. 

HiELPEREN. — A good Completely rigged frigate j the guns of 
thirty-six pounders. 

NORTH WING OF DEFENSION. 
The Battery or Island of Trekroner. 

Mars — of sixty-four guns, an old two decker, condemnedi 
without masts. 

ElephanVen — of seventy guns, ditto. 

This wing, which properly defended the entry of the harbourt 
was likewise supported by the advanced battery of the citadel, 
and by a moveable squadron, situated behind, which consisted of 
die Dannemark, of 74 guns ; Trekroner, of 74 ; the Isis, of 40 ; 
and the Sarpen and Nidelven brigs, of 18 guns each ; under the 
oi-ders of Chamberlain Bille. 

No. 3. 
Remarks, 

The frigates that raked the Provesteen fore and afr, were at 
anchor opposite the battery on Amak island, at about 3400 Dan- 
ish feet distance. 



206 MEMOIRS OF 

except from two ships, and as many hulks moored 
in such manner as to protect the entrance to the ar- 

Theguns of the outermost fortifications, at the S. E. of Copen- 
hagen, being 4000 Danish feet distant from the nearest ships of 
defension, were of no service while the action lasted ; they began 
to fire when the enemy took possession of the abandoned ships 
but it was at the same time that the parley appeared. 

Parker's division was engaging at a great distance. The 
block-ships of the north Vv^ing and tlie Trekroner battery kept him 
In awe, as well as Nelson's van, so tliat Parker's motions could 
have no other tendency than to hinder this part of the defension 
from assisting the others, and to keep Stein Bille's squadron from 
coming out to take possession of tliose English ships which had 
struck, or to succour the nearest part of the fighting wing. 

This citadel, too far behind to use its great guns, threw several 
shells, but soon left oiT on account of its great distance. 

The foe had not only the advantage of the wind, which sent the 
smoke on our ships, but likewise of the current, which permitted 
them to stop where they thought proper, by means of a stern an- 
chor, and thereby were enabled judiciously, as Commodore Fisr 
cher mentions in his report, to assist, cover, or draw back their 
ships, in order to distribute the damage so equally on all, that 
Tione should be totally lost, but that they might all, at least in ap- 
pearance, safely come out of so warm a fight. 

The Danes had the misfortune, half an hour after the action 
began, to have die Rendesborg praam's cable shot off, which 
caused him to drive on a bank behind the Cone, v/lth her bows 
towards the enemy, so that she became useless. 

The second misfortune, v/hich happened almost immediately, 
•was the Dannebrog's catching fire. The third, that the Syaelland's 
cables were shot away. The fourth was, that the chief of the In- 
foedstratten v/as killed by the same fire from the enemy. 

The fight was, nevertheless, continuing, and the fire of the 
southernly fortification of the town became effective, as well as that 
of the block-ships, the Mars and Eiephanten, and the Trekroner 
battery, by the approach of the enemy, when Lord Nelson sent a 



LORD NELSON". ft)/ 

senal. The city and its inhabitants would, in a very 
few hours, have been completely exposed to the 
dreadful thunder of the British bomb vessels. 

The candour of Denmark itself admits the victory 
to have been complete, and that future resistance 
would have been vain, and futile. Admitting, how- 
ever, for a moment, and merely for the sake of argu- 
ment, this not to have been strictly the case, our 
admiration, our wonder, and our applause, i^i view- 
ing the conduct of his lordship," would, paradoxical 
as it may appear, rise at least to the same height it 
would have done, had he been in the actual situation 
of giving laws to the vanquished. We know not 
how sufficiently to admire that greatness of mind, 
which, when surrounded by the most imminent pe- 
rils, can form the most glorious and extensive plans, 
nor can we appreciate sufficiently high the value 
of that wonderful intellect, that, in the precise and 
critical moment, can seize the happy opportunity of 
deciding the fate of battles and of kingdoms. He 
came, he saw, and he overcame, might long have 
been considered his lordship's motto, and the tale of 
his conduct ; but his northern opponents had the fe- 
licity of experiencing, in their antagonist, the con- 
duct of a truly brave, generous, and benevolent 
man. 

It has been already observed, that negotiations be- 
tween persons of honour, having a firm reliance on 

parley on shore ; he thereby gained time to succour those of his 
ships that had struck ; to help others off that were aground, and 
to take a quiet possession of those wrecks that were either sur- 
rendered or forsaken. 



208 MEMOIRS OF 

the conduct of each other, are, generally speaking, 
quickly concluded, and never unduly procrastinated 
for the purpose of furthering the private views of 
either party. Such was the case in the present in- 
stance ; for after a negotiation, which continued only 
seven days, all the preliminary terms were complete- 
ly arranged of a treaty which promised fair to restore 
tranquility to northern Europe. 

However writers and assertions may vary in re- 
spect to the reception his lordship experienced when 
he first landed at Copenhagen, all accounts seem to 
agree in one point ; that the reserve, or suUenness, 
(if so coarse a word be allowed,) displayed by the 
Danes when they first beheld him, quickly disappear- 
ed. His presence ever seemed to produce hilarity ; 
and the joy of the populace in a very few hours could 
hardly have been exceeded by that, which his ap- 
pearance would have excited in any country where 
he was most popular, or even in his own. He pas- 
sed through them, not elated by the pride of victor}'-, 
but with all the humility and affability of a courteous 
stranger, whose chief, and only wish appeared to be 
that of desiring to be pleased himself, and contribut- 
ing at the same time to the pleasure of others. The 
various instances of conspicuous conduct which had 
taken place among the Danes during the late encoun- 
ter, his ever active and penetrating mind revolved 
with care ; and the assiduity he used in informing 
himself who those persons Avere, who had distinguish- 
ed themselves, together with the warmth he is said 
to have recommended them to the Prince of Den- 
mark,, could not have been exceeded, had he him- 



LORD NELSON. S09 

self been the admirul who had commanded them. 
Of this a singular instance is given in an account 
written by a modern traveller, Mr. Carr, not only of 
the action itself, but of his lordship's reception by 
the Crown Prince. 

" The citizens of Copenhagen in a moment flew 
to their posts, all distinctions were lost in the love of 
their country ; nobles and mechanics, gentlemen and 
shopmen, rushed together in crov/ds to the quays, 
the sick crawled out of their beds, and the very lame 
were led to the sea side, imploring to be taken in 
the boats which were perpetually going off with 
crowds to the block-ships : a carnage at once tre- 
mendous and novel only served to increase their en- 
thusiasm. What an awful moment ! The invoked 
vengeance of the British nation, with the fury and 
velocity of lightning, was falling with terrible havock 
upon a race of gallant people in their very capital, 
whose kings were once seated on the throne of Eng- 
land, and in the veins of whose magnanimous Prince 
flov/ed the blood of her august family. Nature must 
have shuddered as she contemplated such a war with 
brethren : the conflict was short, but sanguinary be- 
yond example. In the midst of the slaughter the 
heroic Nelson dispatched a flag of truce on shore, 
with a note to the Crown Prince, in which he wished 
that a stop should be put to the effusion of human 
blood, and to avert the destruction of the Danish 
arsenal, and of the capital, which, he observed, that 
the Danes must then see, were at his mercy. He 
once more proposed their withdrawing from the triple 
league, and acknowledging the supremacy of the 

28 



210 MEMOIRS OF 

British flag. As soon as the Prince's answer was 
received, a cessation of hostiUties took place, and 
Lord Nelson left his ship to go on shore : upon his 
arrival at the quay, he found a carriage that had been 
sent for him by Mr. D , a merchant of great re- 
spectability, the confusion being too great to enable 
the Prince to send one of the royal carriages. In the 
former the gallant admiral proceeded to the palace, in 
the octagon, through crowds of people, whose fury 
was rising to frenzy, and among whom his person 
was in more imminent danger than even from the 
cannon of the block- ships ; but nothing could shake 
the soul of such a man. Arrived at the palace in the oc- 
tagon, he calmly descended from the carriage, amidst 
the murmurs and groans of the enraged concourse, 
which not even the presence of the Danish officers 
who accompanied him could restrain. The Crown 
Prince received him in the hall, conducted him up 
stairs, and presented him to the King, whose long 
shattered state of mind, had left him but very little 
sensibility to display upon the trying occasion. The 
objects of this impressive interview were soon ad- 
justed, to the perfect satisfaction of lord Nelson, and 
his applauding country ; that done, he assumed the 
gaiety and good humour of a visitor, and partook of 
some refreshment with the Crown Prince. 

" During the repast, lord Nelson spoke in rap- 
tures of the bravery of the Danes, and particularly 
requested the Prince to introduce him to a very young 
officer, whom he described as having performed won- 
ders during the battle, by attacking his own ship 
immediately under her lower guns. It proved to be 



LORD NELSON. 211 

the gallant young Villemoes, a stripling of seventeen : 
the British hero embraced him with the enthusiasm 
of a brother, and delicately hinted to the Prince, that 
he ought to make him an admiral ; to which the 
Prince very happily replied, *' If, my Lord, I were 
to make all my brave officers admirals, I should have 
no captains, or lieutenants in my service." This he- 
roic youth had volunteered the command of a praam, 
which is a sort of raft, carrying six small cannon and 
twenty-four men, who pushed oft" from shore, and 
in the fury of battle placed themselves under the stern 
of Lord Nelson's ship, which they most successfully 
attacked in such a manner, that although they were 
below the reach of the stern chasers, the British ma- 
rines made terrible slaughter among them ; twenty 
of these gallant men fell by their bullets, but their 
young commander continued, knee deep in dead, at 
his post, until the truce was announced. He has 
been honoured, as he most eminently deserved to 
be, with the grateful remembrance of his country, 
and of his prince, who, as a mark of his regard, 
presented him with a medallion commemorative of 
his gallantry, and has appointed him to the command 
of the yacht, in which he makes his annual visit to 
Holstein. The issue of this contest was glorious 
and decisive ; could it be otherwise when its destines 
were committed to a Nelson ?" 

His affability prompted him to examine, and to 
applaud without flattery, the diligence and abilities 
of those, who had not as yet reached a sufficient age 
to contribute towards the defence of their country. 
Viewing them with the eye of Urotherly love, and 



212 MEMOIRS OF 

wishing to fan the early rising flame of genius, he ac- 
companied the praises he bestowed, with presents, 
certainly rendered incalculably valuable, when the 
character of the donor was considered. In short, the 
page of Danish history will in all probability candidly 
record to future ages, that, Copenhagen, considering 
him as a foe, she had never felt one whom she had 
more occasion to dread ; and viewing him as a 
friend, had never found a man who more impressive- 
ly demanded her veneration and love. 

Althous:h the British nation had been accustomed 
to contemplate with pleasure on the heroic deeds of 
his lordship, yet there was a variety in the present 
exploit which, if it could not raise his greatness be- 
yond that height it had already attained, at least pla- 
ced his abilities and intrepidity in a new light.-— 
Scientific skill, professional know^ledge, and manual 
expertness, were all out of the question. The aS' 
sault on Copenhagen approached as near to a military 
attack, and the act of storming a fortified town, as it 
was possible it could do, even had human invention 
.exerted itself to the utmost, to render the cases as 
closely parallel as possible. In defiance of the floating 
batteries used on this occasion, as the succedaneum 
for trenches, he bore down like a torrent every ob- 
stacle that presumed to oppose him; and his coun- 
trymen felicitated themselves, that it would be only 
necessary to place him in new and varied points of 
danger, to call forth the latent energies of his mind 
which were equal to every exertion the service of his 
country might in future demtmd of him. 

The British Parliament, on the first news of the 



LORD NELSON. 213 

victory, were warm and afFectionate in their tribute 
of gratitude, and of praise. Individuals of the most 
distinguished rank paid him the highest compliments 
on his conduct. In the House of Peers, after a mo- 
tion made on the 16th of April, by the Earl St. Vin- 
cent, that the thanks of the House should be given 
to Sir Hyde Parker, the commander in chief, Lord 
Nelson, Rear- Admiral Graves, and the rest of the 
officers and seamen, for their very exemplary brave- 
ry displayed on the memorable occasion alluded to, 
the Duke of Clarence, among other observations 
and compliments, when speaking of Lord Nelson, 
said, " That fortune seemed to back his courage and 
intrepidity in every enterprise he engaged in ; and ac- 
knowledged his own personal obligations, as a Prince 
of the Blood, to the gallant commanders, and to the 
whole fleet, for the accomplishment of a victory, 
which, probably in its effects, would restore the pos- 
sessions of the Continent to his family, together with 
the peace and security of the British empire and of 
Europe," 

In the House of Commons, Mr, Addington, at 
that time Chancellor of the Exchequer, who made 
a motion of the same tenor and effect with that of 
Earl St. Vincent, declared, " that no action had ta- 
ken place in the course of the present war, which 
contributed more to sustain the character and to add 
to the lustre of the British arms. For its execution, 
Sir Hyde Parker, Lord Nelson, and Rear- Admiral 
Graves, three most distinguished oflicers had been 
selected ; and thus prepared, the armament pro- 
ceeded to the North. To enter into all the particu- 



£14 MEMOIRS OF 

lars of the service was unnecessary : it was sufficient 
therefore to say, that the fleet, after passing the 
Sound, advanced to Copenhagen. Such was the si- 
tuation of the enemy's force, that all our ships could 
not possibly be engaged. In these circumstances. Sir 
Hyde Parker had, with a degree of judgment which 
reflected the highest credit on his choice, appointed 
Lord Nelson, whose name has already been covered 
with splendour and renown, to the execution of the 
important enterprise. Great, however, as was the 
courage, the skill, and the success which had been 
formerly displayed by this illustrious commander at 
Aboukir, it was not greater than that which had been 
exhibited in the attack of the fleet moored for the 
defence of Copenhagen ; but this was not all : after 
the hne of defence was destroved, and whilst a tre- 
mendous fire was still continued, Lord Nelson reti- 
red to his cabin, and addressed a letter to the Prince 
lvO}-al of Denmark ; he then asked that a flag of truce 
migat be permitted to land, adding, at the same time, 
that if this was denied, he must be obliged to demoU 
ish the floating batteries which were in his power, 
and that in such case he could not answer for the lives 
of the brave men by whom they had been defended. 
To the answer, which required to know the motive 
of such a message, his reply was— that his only mo- 
tive was humanity ; that his wish was to prevent the 
further efi'usion of blood, and that no victory he 
could possibly gain, would aftbrd him so much plea^ 
sure as would result from being the instrument of re-r 
storing tlie amicable intercourse which had so long ex- 
i:^ted between his sovereign and the government of 



LORD NELSON. 215 

Benmark. Lord Nelson, in consequence, went on 
shorCj and was received by £\ brave and generous 
people — for brave they had shewn themselves in their 
defence, and generous in the oblivion of their loss : 
with the loudest and most general acclamations, the 
Prince Royal of Denmark had also received his 
lordship in a manner conformable to his high charac- 
ter : the negotiation which ensued between them it 
would be highly improper for him now to state ; but 
this we must observe, that Lord Nelson had shown 
himself as wise as he was brave, and proved, that 
there may be united in the same person, the talents 
of the warrior and the statesman." ' 

The rewards he received, however, were not mere- 
ly confined to the applause bestowed on him by the 
legislative body, and which he so honestly merited ; 
for on the 19th of the ensuing month his elevation 
to the rank of Viscount of the united kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland, by the name, stile, and ti- 
tle of Viscount Nelson of the Nile, and of Burnbam 
Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk, was announced in 
the London Gazette ; an addition of worldly honour 
which, contrary to the effect too frequently produced 
by such marks of royal favour, excited envy in no 
one ; the only symptom of disapprobation which was 
heard, being a species of sorrowful repining, that the 
reward had been no greater. 

Notwithstanding it was known to all, that, inde- 
pendent of that event, which would certainly have 
annihilated the northern confederacy, even if no ac- 
tion had taken place with the D anish fleet, the cause 
of the allied powers had received a most fatal, and 
perhaps decisive blow by the encounter ; yet it was 



216 MEMOIRS OF 

also evident there still remained much to be done* 
The season of naval \varfare in the Baltic is confined 
by Nature herself to a very short space ; the utmost 
alacrity and promptitude were therefore necessary ; 
Russia-, the most formidable power in the whole 
league, hitherto remained, as well as Sweden, total- 
ly unattacked. The comm.ander in chief, therefore, 
proceeded to the eastward in a very short time after 
the convention already mentioned was signed, with 
such ships of the fleet as were in a proper condition 
for service. Lord Nelson remained at Copenhagen 
under orders to follow him with such ships of the 
fleet as he should judge fit for further operations ; 
when those whose damages were trivial had been re- 
paired in the best manner circumstances would per- 
mit, and the necessary arrangements had been made 
foi' the return of their companions to England, with 
such of the captured ships as should be fit to under- 
take that voyage. The list of the latter was extreme- 
ly confined ; for with the single exception of the 
Holstein of 64 guns, which was commissioned as a 
hospital-ship, they were all ordered to be destroyed, 
as being completely unfit for service. The progress 
of the fleet was continued with activity and diligence, 
although accompanied with danger. In its passage 
through the narrow channel that divides the islands 
of Amak and Saitholm, the greater part of the ships 
touched the ground, and two or three of them actu- 
ally stuck fast for a short time : no very serious incon- 
venience or disaster, however, took place, and the 
arrival of the British armament in the Baltic struck 
the still unassailed confederates, Russia, Prussia, Swe- 



LORD NELSON. 21? 

den with dismay ; and Denmark, who had so lately- 
felt its effects, with astonishment. The attack of the 
Russian fleet, the most formidable member of the 
league, and which then lay at anchor at Revel, was 
intended to be the first operation ; but the commander 
in chief having received intelligence, while on his 
voyage thither, that the Swedish fleet had put to sea, 
in the hope of effecting a junction with that of Rus- 
sia, Sir Hyde Parker immediately steered for the 
island of Bornholm, in the hope of intercepting it. 
He was in some measure not disappointed ; the Swe- 
dish fleet were actually discovered, but its command- 
er fearing it might experience a repetition of that 
disaster which he had just learnt had befallen his al- 
lies, retired on the first instant the approach of the 
English was perceived, and sheltered himself under 
the protection of the numberless forts and batteries 
erected on the island at the entrance of Carlscro- 
na, for the defence of that port. 

During this interval, Lord Nelson was most ac- 
tively and unremittingly employed at Copenhagen ; 
and on the 18th of April, having provided for the 
most pressing emergencies of the service, he caused 
the guns of the St. George, into which ship he had 
again removed after the action of the 6th, to be ta- 
ken out, and put on board an American ship, the pas- 
sage over the grounds not being practicable for so 
large a vessel as that which then bore his flag, unless 
she were previously lightened. An adverse wind pre- 
vented his lordship, however, from moving ; but, on 
the same evening, having received information of 
the relative situation between the Swedish and Bri- 

29 



218 MEMOIRS OF 

tish fleets, as well as that an engagement, or attack 
might be expected, and burning with that anxious 
energy which so strongly characterized his actions on 
every similar occasion, he ordered his boat to be 
manned, forthe purpose of following the fleet, although 
it was then nearly ten leagues distant from him, and 
the united opposition of the wind and current, 
threatened most powerfully to impede his passage. 

Two or three anecdotes are related concerning him 
on this occasion, strongly indicative, as well of the 
state and strength of his mind, as of that wonderful 
enthusiasm which he at all times displayed in the 
service of his country. In his haste he had quitted 
the St. George without being provided with that ne- 
cessary, and customary defence against the incle- 
mency of the weather, a boat cloak. This circum- 
stance was discovered soon after they left the ship, 
to which he refused to return ; notwithstanding it was 
then night, the weather extremely cold, and it was 
foreseen that some hours would unavoidably pass ere 
he could reach the commander in chief : the master 
of one of the ships belonging to the squadron, who 
had been ordered to attend him, happened to be fur- 
nished with a great coat, which he m vain attempted 
pressing his lordship to make use of; even his refu- 
sal did him honour, when the terms, and tenor are 
considered. His answer was neither that of a con- 
temptuous arrogance, nor that of an assumed pride, 
urging a man to acts and words contrived for the pur- 
pose of acquiring celebrity : men possessing less 
minds have sometimes acted in this manner. The 
reply of Lord Nelson to his companion's afiectionate 



LORD NELSON. 219 

offer was in perfect unison with every other action of 
his life : " I thank you," said he, " very much ; but 
to tell you the truth, my anxiety keeps me sufficient- 
ly warm for the present." 

*' Think you," said his lordship presently after- 
wards, " the British fleet have quitted Bornholm? If 
it has," added he without waiting to have his ques- 
tion answered, " we must follow it to Carlscrona :" 
as though he had known instinctively the thoughts of 
his commander in chief and the measures he would 
pursue. Thus we see. that in every varied situation 
of danger, difficulty, incoi>fVenicnce, and distress, he 
was equally great. That no pressure in either of the 
foregoing instances, let the magnitude be what it 
might, could abate the ardour of his mind, or divert 
it, even for a single moment, from that track which 
the public service seemed to demand. 

His lordship happily reached his former flag-ship, 
the Elephant, about midnight ; and, as if his arrival 
had been waited for, being the absolutely required 
preliminary to the attack, the pursuit was continued 
with such success during the ensuing morning, that 
in a few hours the Swedish armament, amounting 
to nine sail of the line, moored, as already describcdj^ 
under their batteries, were clearly discovered from the 
deck of the Elephant, and her companions. Sir Hyde 
Parker, the commander in chief, anxiously wishing 
to prevent all unnecessary eff'usion of blood, dispatch- 
ed the Dart sloop of war, under a flag of truce, tq 
the Swedish admiral, with information of the diffe- 
rent events which had so recendy taken place ; the 
destruction of the Danish line of defence, the appa. 



220 MEMOIRS OF 

rently pacific disposition of Denmark, and tlie armis- 
tice which had been agreed on with that court ; re- 
questing, at the same time, to be informed whether 
the British fleet was to consider that of Sweden in 
the light of friends or of foes ? The answer was ap- 
propriate ; it prevented for the time the commence- 
ment of warfare, and the arrival of the King of Swe- 
den himself at Carlscrona, served to prolong the 
public tranquility.* 

* Carlscrona, April 23. 
On the 19th the English appeared off the enti-ance of this har- 
bour, and sent a frigate with a^ag of truce, and a letter, in the 
English language, to the Governor, of which the following are the 
contents : 

« On board the London, April 18, 1801. 
" The Danish court having been induced to conclude an ar- 
mistice, by which the unfortunate disputes between the Courts of 
Denmark and St. James have been accommodated ; and as I am 
directed to require an explicit declaration from the Court of Swe- 
den, relative to its intention to adhere to, or to abandon the hostile 
measures which it has taken against the rights and interest of 
Great- Britain, I have the honour to transmit to your Excellency 
this letter, that I may receive in answer a declaration of the reso- 
lution of the Court of Sweden with respect to this important object 
and shall conduct my future operations according to this answer, 
which I expect to receive within forty-eight hours. 
" 1 have the honour to be, &c. 

" Hyde Parker, 
*♦ Commander in chief of the British 
" fleet in the Baltic." 
Vice-Admlral Cronstadt, who has now the command here, by 
order of his Swedish Majesty, who was then at Malmo, immedi- 
ately returned a provisionary answer to the following effect : 

*'That being only a military officer, he could not undertake to 
3,nswer a question which did not come within the paiticular circle 



LORD NELSON, ?21 

The behaviour of his Swedish Majesty was 
fnagnanimous, though mild ; spirited, though 
inclined to peace ; and the general complexion of 
his conduct convinced the British Admiral of the 
sincerity of his assurances, and the rectitude of his 

of his duty, but that his Swedish Majesty had declared he should 
soon be at Carlscrona, and that he would then potify to the Ad- 
miral his resolution." 

Yesterday afternoon his Majesty arrived here, and caused the 
following official answer to be transmitted to Admiral Parker, 
by Vlce-Admiral Cronstadt : 
" Admiral, 

« The King, my master, has commanded me to communicate 
to you the following official answer to the letter which I had the 
honour to receive from you on the 1 8th instant. 

« Convinced tliat your Excellency is perfectly sensible of the 
importance and sacred nature of promises when once made, his 
Majesty conceives that the following explicit declaration cannot 
be unexpected by your Excellency ; viz. That his Swedish Ma- 
jesty will not for a moment fail to fulfil with fidelity and sincerity 
the engagements he has entered into with his allies ; and that, 
without any reference to the particular intervention of any other 
power, under whatever name it may be, and the effects of which 
can never be extended to the common interests of the hitherto 
neutral powers. This is the firm and nnalterable resolution of 
his majesty ; equally indi;ced by inclination and duty to consider 
the affairs of his faithful allies as his own. His Swedish Majesty, 
however, will not refuse to listen to equitable proposals for ac- 
commodating the present disputes, made by deputies furnished 
with proper authority by the King of Great-Britain to the united 
northern powers. 

'* C. O. Cronstadt, 
" Adjutant- General to his Swedish Majesty for 
the fleet and Commander in Chief at 
Carlscrona. 

"Carlscrona, April 93.?' 



222 MEMOIRS OF 

intentions. Satisfied of these, the continuance of 
the fleet ofF the coast of Sweden was no longer neces- 
sary. It was ahnost in the act of proceeding to the 
Gulph of Finland, when a dispatch-boat arrived ex- 
press from the Russian ambassador at Copenhagen, 
bringing the following declaration from the emperor 
of all the Russias to the commander in chief of the 
British fleet ; — 

*' By the decease of his majesty the emperor, Paul 
the first of glorious memory, the sceptre of the Rus- 
sian empire has descended, by the right of birth, into 
the hands of his imperial majesty Alexander the first. 
One of the first events under this monarch has been, 
that he has accepted the offer which the British court 
had made to his illustrious predecessor, to terminate 
the disputes which threatened the speedy breaking 
out of a war in the north of Europe, by an amicable 
convention. Faithful to the engagements which he 
has entered into w' ith the courts of Stockholm, Ber- 
lin, and Copenhagen, his imperial majesty has signi- 
fied to them his resolution not to act, but in conjunc- 
tion with his allies, in whatever may concern the in- 
terests of the neutral powers. His imperial majesty 
could not have expected, that the British court would 
have undertaken a hostile attack upon Denmark, at 
the very time when its envoy at Berlin was authoriz- 
ed anew to enter into conferences with the Russian 
minister residing there. 

*' The measures taken by his imperial majesty 
were only in consequence of his wish for peace, and 
the welfare of mankind ; and to avoid a destructive 
misunderstanding between the contending powers. 



LORD NELSON. 223 

^he hostilities commenced against Denmark, and the 
arrival of a hostile fleet, would have frustrated the wish 
of his imperial majesty to maintain peace, had not this 
attack upon his allies been made before his proposals 
were known to the court of London ; but as the 
British fleet had sailed for the Sound before his Majes- 
ty had ascended the throne, he will wait the measures 
of the British court, when it shall be informed of that 
event. 

" The undersigned general of cavalry, and minister 
of state for foreign affairs, desires therefore in the 
name of his illustrious sovereign, that the admiral in 
chief of the fleet of his Britannic majesty shall desist 
from all further hostilities against the flags of the three 
isnited powers, till his excellency shall have received 
further directions from his sovereign ; otherwise the 
admiral must be personally responsible for the conse- 
quences that may ensue, from the prosecution of the 
war. 

*' Though prepared to repel force with force, his 
imperial majesty persists in his pacific sentiments ; 
but the justice and moderation of the cabinet of Lon- 
don must enable them to reconcile the demands of 
humanity with the duties which he owes to the hon- 
our of his crown and the interest of his allies. 

" Von Der Pahlen." 
Such was the state of affairs, when Sir Hyde Par- 
ker, after having proceeded with the fleet to Kioge 
Bay, a short distance to the eastward of Copenhagen, 
resigned his command to Lord Nelson. He could 
not have confided it in abler hands ; for although the 
flames of war had ceased to rage, the science of pre- 



224 MEMIORS OF 

serving peace, after so recent an interruption of ami- 
ty, with all the difTerent powers concerned, became a 
task of no small diuiculty. The placid temper of his 
lordship was extremely well suited to the occasion, as 
the following correspondence, between himself and 
the Swedish admiral, will fully testify : 

"Sir, "May 9th, 1801. 

*« The former commander in chief of the British fleet in thtf 
Baltic, having, at the request of tlie emperor of Russia, consent- 
ed not to interrupt the Swedish navigation it would be extremely- 
unpleasant to me, should any thing happen, which might for a 
moment disturb the returning harmony and friendship between 
Sweden and Great- Britain. Your Excellency must therefore 
permit me to inform you, that I am not directed to abstain from 
hostilities, should I meet with the Swedish fleet at sea. As it is 
therefore in your power to prevent this, I am convinced that you 
will consider this intimation as a friendly measure on my part, 
and communicate the same to his Swedish majesty. I entreat 
your excellency to believe that I am, with the utmost respect, 

*' Your most obedient servant, 

" Nelson and Bronte." 
** On board the Prince (Jeorge, in the Baltic." 

(Answer by Vice- Admiral Cronstadt.) 
"Admiral, 
** I have had the honour to receive the letter of your excellen- 
cy of the 8th instant, and have transmitted it to the king my 
master, who has gone from hence to Stockholm. Wlien I shall 
receive his answer, I will do myself the honour of forwarding it 
to you immediately. " C. O. Cronstadt, 

" Admiral and Commander in Chief of tlie 
" Fleet at Carlscrona. 
" Carlscrona, May 10th, 1801." 

Letter from Lord Nelson to Admiral Cronstadt, 
Commander in Chief of the Swedish fleet, received 
at Carlscrona the 24th of Mav, 1801. 



LORD NELSON. 225 

" St. George, at sea, 
"Sir, « May 23d, 1801. 

« In the correspondence which your excellency had with the 
late commander in chief of the British fleet in the Baltic, who 
notified to you that the Swedish trade in the Cattegat and the 
Baltic should not be molested by British cruisers, I find no coun- 
ter declaration on the part of Sweden ; I must therefore request 
of your excellency an explicit declaration, that the trade of 
•Great- Britain in the Cattegat and the Baltic shall in no manner 
be molested by Sweden. Your excellency will perceive the ne- 
cessity of such a reciprocal declaration. 

" I am, with the utmost respect, 
" Your Excellency's most obedient servant, 

*• Nelson and Bronte." 
To this the following answer was returned : 
" Admiral, 
*' I have to-day had the honour to receive the letter of your 
excellency of the 23d instant. As my ' instructions do not per- 
mit me to issue my orders relative to the conduct to be pursued 
with respect to the trade of Great-Britain, I shall transmit the 
letter of your excellency to the king, my master ; and when I re- 
ceive the commands of his majesty on the subject, shall immedi- 
ately have the honour to communicate to you an official answer. 
I remain, with the utmost respect, 

** Cronstadt." 

Oil tlfe following day his lordship had the satisfac- 
tion of receiving the subjoined note ; 

" Carlscrona, May 24". 
" Admiral Lord Nelson, 
" I have tliis moment received the orders of the king ray 
master, for taking off the embargo of the trade and navigation to 
England, a copy of which I herewith transmit to your excellen- 
cy, as your excellency, in your excellency's letter of yesterday, 
requested it of me, and as I am now enabled, according to my 
promise, to return you an official answer. I am, &c. 

" Cronstadt." 
30 



226 MEMOIRS OF 

A subsequent letter, dated on the 17tli of June, 
but which did not reach the fleet till after his lordship 
had quitted the command of it, concluded the epis- 
tolary correspondence in the happiest manner. 

*' Admiral, 
« With the gracious approbation of the king, my master, I 
have the honour to signify to your excellency, that, according to 
the latest accounts from St. Petersburgh, his excellency, Lord 
St. Helens, has arrived there, and that the present differences 
will soon be adjusted in an equitable and pacific manner. I am 
hereby afforded a new opportunity of assuring your excellency 
of my sincere and high esteem. 

" His majesty's adjutant on board the fleet, 
" and commander at Carlscrona.'* 

The fatigue his lordship had undergone, had con- 
siderably impaired his health, a circumstance which, 
added to the tranquilized state of public affairs in 
the Baltic, caused him, not long after the departure 
of Sir Hyde Parker, to solicit his recal also ; but, 
previous to his quitting the command, he put forth 
the following public orders ; orders as generally, as 
they are deservedly applauded. 

" Lord Nelson has been obliged, from the very bad state of 
his health, to apply to the Lords commissioners of the admiralty, 
for leave to return to England, which their lordships have been 
pleased to comply with ; but Lord Nelson cannot allow himself 
to leave the fleet without expressing to the admirals, captains, 
officers, and men, how sensibly he has felt, and does feel, all 
their kindnesses to him, and also how nobly and honourably they 
have supported him in the hour of battle, and the readiness they 
have shewn to maintain the honour of their king and country, on 
many occasions which have offered j and had more opportunities 
presented themselves. Lord Nelson is perfectly persuaded they 
would have added more glory to their country. Lord Nelson 



LORD NELSON. 227 

cannot but observe, with the highest satisfaction which can fill 
the breast of the British Admiral, that (with the exception of the 
glaring misconduct of the officers of the Tigress and Backer gun- 
brigs, and the charges alleged against the lieutenant of the Ter- 
ror bomb) out of 18,000, of which the fleet is composed, not a 
complaint has been made of any officer or man in it : and he 
cannot but remark, that the extraordinary health of this fleet, 
under the blessings of Almighty God, is to be attributed to the 
great regularity, the exact discipline, and cheerful obedience of 
every individual in the fleet. The vice-admiral assures them, 
that he will not fall to represent to the lords commissioners of 
^tie admiralty their highly praise-worthy conduct ; and if it 
please God, that the vice-admiral recovers his health, he will 
feel proud, on some future day, to go with them in pursuit of 
further glory, and to assist in making the name of our king be- 
loved and respected by all the world. 

" Nelson and Bronte. 
" To the respective admirals, captains, Sec. 
♦'St. Ghorge, Kioge Bay, June 18th." 

On the following day his lordship resigned the 
command of the squadron to Sir Charles Morice 
Pole, who had been sent out to relieve him, and im- 
mediately returned to England. He arrived at Yar- 
mouth on the 1st of July ; and it might naturally have 
been supposed, that the same cause which compel- 
led him to solicit his recal from the Baltic, would 
have operated in preventing his lordship from enter- 
ing into actual service again, at least till he had en- 
joyed some relaxation from fatigue, and had acquir- 
ed a most perfect re-establishment of his health. — : 
This, however, proved by no means the case ; France 
finding the ingenious project of the northern confed- 
eracy, to which her intrigues originally gave birth, 
and which had been artfully fomented by her emissa- 
ries, had completely fliiled, and that all those san- 



228 MEMOIRS OF 

guine hopes, which had been formed of the advan- 
tages that would result from it, were now no more, 
HOW' resorted to a second project, for the purpose of 
amusing, if the term be allowed, the indignation of 
England, and preventing its falling on some devoted 
spot, where, in just retribution for the horrors which 
Buonaparte and his predecessors had spread over the 
face of Europe, it might pour its most terrific ven- 
geance. 

It has been reiteratedly remarked with the greatest 
justice, both by historical, and political writers, that 
the phantom of invasion has in ail instances of this 
sort, proved the best adapted to answer the views of 
France. In repetition, therefore, of the same mea- 
sure, which experience had proved so often success- 
ful, a considerable number of French troops were 
drawn down to the different parts of the opposite 
coasts nearest to England : and a notilla extensive in 
point of numbers, and in report, as to its equipment, 
highly formidable, began to be collected hi divers of 
the minor ports, during the early part of the summer. 
The accumulated reinforcement of Soldiers, and the 
additions made to this new fangled marine, began at 
length to excite the attention of the British ministry ; 
a considerable military force marched towards the 
coast, the counties of Kent and Sussex vrere warned 
to be constantly on the alert, and extensive additions 
w^ere made to the armament of light vessels, which, 
during the whole of the war, had been stationed in 
the Downs, and its environs. 

A system of mere defence was by no means suited 
tp the ideas of the British government, or the wishes 



LORD NELSON. 229 

of the people ; and although it might have been con- 
sidered an act of madness, or folly to have threat- 
ened a retaliation of warfare equally extensive with 
that vainly menaced by France, it was nevertheless 
thought political and judicious to make desultory 
attacks on such of these marine depots as appeared 
most vulnerable, and attempt the destruction, not 
only of the vessels themselves, but of the batteries 
which protected them. Tlie project was wise, and 
appeared to promise success ; it was supposed, and 
properly so, that no enterprise could be more de- 
grading to France, or could elevate the situation of 
Britain to a greater height in the eyes of all Europe 
and of the world, than a happy seizure of the criti- 
cal moment of commencing the attack, when their 
preparations were brought nearest to the summit of 
supposed perfiection. 

The eyes of ministers were impulsively turned 
with unanimous concurrence on Lord Nelson : the 
command was offered to him; and he disdained, not- 
widistanding the delicate state of his health, and his 
recent return from a most fatiguing service, to hesi- 
tate a single moment in accepting of it. Some per- 
sons have asserted that his lordship not only made a 
voluntary tender of his services on this occasion, but 
was the actual proposer of the project. The mat- 
ter is immaterial, which ever way the fact stands ; 
but although the propriety of the choice must have 
forcibly struck all ranks of persons, there were not 
wanting some individuals, who affected rather to dis- 
approve of liis lordship's appointment on this occa- 
iiion. It was very extraordinary, however, that few, 



230 MEMOIRS OF 

or none of them agreed together in the reasons they 
gave for this dissent. All, however, reflected the 
highest honour on his lordship. It was urged in one 
place, that the general character of the service was 
hurt b}'^ the appointment ; in as much as it appeared 
to shew the world, from his lordship's being again 
so suddenly called into service, that England could 
produce no other person capable of conducting so ar- 
duous an attack. In the opinion of others, the ap- 
pointment was considered a hardship owing to the 
services his lordship had already performed, the dan- 
gers he had encountered, the fatigues he had under- 
gone, and the injury his health, his constitution nar 
turally weak, must have sustained from anxiety and 
extraordinary exertion. The third opinion was, 
if possible, more flattering to his lordship's charac- 
ter, than either of the foregoing; the expedition was 
thought of too humble a nature, to demand the ser- 
vices of this great man ; many persons held, that it 
was a degradation to the conqueror of Aboukir, to 
be employed on an enterprise against a paltra flotilla. 
Expeditions, added they, of the first class only, 
should be confided to heroes, whose character was 
so indelibly stamped as his own ; and by a very ap- 
posite quotation declared, 

" Nee Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus 
« Intererit." 

Notwithstanding these different grounds of disa- 
greement, all united in one point of opinion ; that a 
fitter instrument to such an occasion could not have 
been chosen, than Lord Nelson ; that his very name 



Lord nelson. 231 

tvas a tower of mighty strength ; and that every- 
thing which the power of irjan could effect, was not 
only to be naturally expected from the skill as well 
as gallantry of his conduct, but success was consid- 
ered as the almost inevitable consequence resulting 
from his appointment. 

To return, however, for the present, to simple 
narrative : his lordship, as has been already related, 
landed on the 1st of July, at Yarmouth, where he 
was received, if not with all the honours due to his 
great name and renown, with such as the magistra- 
cy, the inhabitants, and the military, were capable of 
displaying, to evince their high respect and esteem. 
On this occasion too did his lordship, never relaxing 
for a single moment from those firm and genuine 
principles of benevolence and humanity, which so 
indelibly marked his character, again exhibit to the 
world a fresh proof of both. His first occupation, 
after he had reached the shore, was to visit the hos- 
pitals which contained those unfortunate persons 
who had been wounded under his command at the 
attack of Copenhagen. He inquired with the atten- 
tion of a parent, and a friend into the state of their 
health, their wants and their situation ; and in all 
cases, where his advice, his interference, or his as- 
sistance became necessary, his aid was afforded with 
the affection of a true philanthropist, and with the 
tenderness of a foster parent. Previous to his quit- 
ting the town, the volunteer cavalry assembled, and 
insisted, as a humble token of their esteem, on es- 
corting his lordship on his journey as far as Lowe- 
stoffe. 



232 MEMOIRS OF 

In a very few days after his arrival in London, he 
received his new commission, which appointed hint 
commander in chief of a squadron, employed between 
Orfordness and Beachyherd ; together vvith the whole 
flotilla of gun-brigs, fire-ships, bomb-ketches, and 
vessels of every description together with the sea- 
fencibles, embodied within the same district, and all 
the boats, or floating defence vessels, on board which 
they were appointed to act. He, accordingly, pro- 
ceeded almost immediately to Sheerness, and hoisted 
his flag on board the Unite frigate of thirty-two guns. 
He sailed from thence in a very few days afterwards, 
and, as if it was determined by fortune, that every 
action of this great man's life should be accompanied 
with celebrity, in his passage from the Nore, instead 
of pursuing the usual course, and proceeding through 
the king's channel, he chose to attempt, using the 
proper precautions for the safety of the ship, a pas- 
sage which had always been considered impractica- 
ble for ships of war, but which proving otherwise, 
has ever since been appropriately termed Nelson's 
channel. 

As a proper preliminary to the intended enterprise, 
a general and strict embargo was imposed for the pre- 
vention of all intercourse whatever, between the 
ports of England and those of the opposite coasts ; 
the most positive orders were also given, that no per- 
son of any description or rank whatever, should be 
permitted to land from France, the ports of Flanders, 
or Holland. Notwithstanding, however, this strictly 
enforced precaution, either that jealousy, naturally 
attendant on timidity, had excited apprehensions in 



LORD NELSON. 233 

the mind of France, or she had been, with more 
truth, perhaps, might it be asserted, correctly in- 
formed by her trusty, and treacherous emissaries, of 
the blow with which she was menaced. Every pre- 
caution was immediately taken on her part, to secure 
herself, far as her powers permitted her, from the 
violence of it. From Brest to the Texel the shores 
were lined with troops ; immense bodies had been 
purposely marched from the interior on the occasion, 
with astonishing rapidity ; batteries were erected, 
and fiu'naces pepared for tlie purpose of heating red 
hot shot ; in short, nothing was left undone, or un- 
tried that the knowledge of the soldier, or the skill of 
the engineer, could suggest, for the purpose of pre- 
senting the most formidable obstacles to the success 
of their assailants. 

It was remarked with correctness, on this occasion, 
that the war between France and Great Britain 
assumed a new but highly interesting appeaiance to 
the individuals of both countries. That in former 
wars, and indeed in the preceding part of that which 
then existed, the distant colonies of both had most 
severely felt its terrors, while their vitals had remain- 
ed nearly untouched and unmolested ; now, however, 
the encampments of France on the coast of Picardy, 
and those of England on the shores of Kent, revived 
in idea the days of the Henrys and the Edwards, 
when a single battle frequently determined the event 
of the war, and prescribed the terms of future peace. 
On the 30th of July, his lordship, who had then 
reached Deal, hoisted his flag on board the Leyden, 
of sixty-eight guns, from whence he very soon after- 

31 



234 MEMOIRS Of 

wards removed it to the Medusa. His force, inde* 
pendent of the Ley den, consisted of the Ruyter and 
York, of sixty-four guns each ; the Isis, of fifty ; the 
Hind, Brilliant, Medusa, and several other frigates, 
with gun-brigs, fire-ships, and different vessels, rais- 
ing the amount of the whole armament to forty sail of 
various descriptions. As the limits of the command 
were in consonance with the abilities of his lordship, 
extensive, so were the powers also, on which he was 
on this occasion invested, unusual. To remedy, as 
far as human aid could render its assistance, the dif- 
ficulty under which his lordship laboured, in conse- 
quence of the loss of his right arm, he had the extra- 
ordinary allowance of three marine aides-du-camp, 
and, in short, experienced every other possible re- 
spect that could be shewn him by the board of admi- 
ralty, in regard to his suite, and appointments. 

Though public opinion had for some days prognos- 
ticated the general destination of the expedition, yet 
the spot destined first to feel its force remained un- 
known ; so that expectation was raised on tip-toe, 
when, on the 1st of August, his lordship quitted the 
Downs, and stood over to the coast of France. Bou- 
logne-sur-mer it appeared was fixed on as the debut 
of the enterprise ; it had long been the principal point 
of rendezvous on that coast, for the gun-boats and 
other small craft, destined, according to report, for 
the invasion of Britain. It had been, moreover, a 
receptacle for the nest of small privateers, which had 
at different periods very severely injured the coasting 
trade of Britain, carried on, generally speaking, in 
vessels totally defenceless. On both these grounds, 



LORD NELSON. 235 

therefore, the destruction of this port, with its con- 
tents, was judicious in respect to the attempt, and 
would have been extremely grateful in the success of 
it. The flotilla which had actually been prepared 
within itself, had lately received a very considerable 
reinforcement from Calais ; and it appeared, that 
owing to its very shallow draught of water, as well 
as the proximity which it was constantly enabled to 
keep in respect to the shore, that it was a matter al- 
most amounting to impossibility for the British crui- 
sers, with ail their alertness, to prevent such a junc- 
tion, or any subsequent measure of the same kind, 
in respect to vessels of the same description, that 
might be attempted by the enemy. 

The coast in the neighbourhood of Boulogne runs 
in a direction nearly east, and west. To the eastward 
a point of land juts out, which forms a bay, in the 
centre of which is the mouth of the harbour opening 
to the north. The floating force of the enemy, con- 
sisting of six large brigs, two schooners, and twenty 
gun-boats, were anchored in a line along the shore, 
at little more than a quarter of a mile's distance from 
it. The vessels were formed in two separate divi- 
sions ; the largest of these was stationed to the west- 
ward of the entrance into the port, the remainder to 
the eastward. The most powerful vessel belonging 
to the enemy was moored off" the mouth of the har- 
bour, which was still farther protected by a strong 
battery on the beach, and a second on the eastern 
pier-head. A considerable encampment was disco- 
vered on the heights, extending on each side of the 
town. Such was the formidable position of defence 



236 MEMIORS OF 

which presented Itself to his lordship's view, when 
he arrived at Boulogne on the 3d of August. 

The whole of the day was unremittingly employ- 
ed in reconnoitering, and in making the necessary ar- 
ranofements for immediate attack ; and in the even- 

o 

ing a trial was made by the bomb vessels, as to the 
extent of the ranges the shells they threw, would 
make. The trial proving completely satisfactory, the 
signal was made to call them off, and the whole ar- 
mament came to an anchor at a distance of four miles 
from the town. At break of day, on the ensuing 
morning, the preparations for commencing the attack 
began. The vice-admiral himself at four o'clock 
stationed the bomb- vessels, which were five in num- 
ber, extending in an oblique line from the western 
point of the enemy's position. They all reached 
their several stations, and the bombardment actually 
commenced a little before five o'clock. Behind, 
and in support of these terrific assailants, a line," 
composed of ships of war, was stationed under weigh, 
ready to protect them on the instant, should any un- 
foreseen molestation take place. His lordship him- 
self, having his flag on board the Medusa, took his 
post directly in front of the harbour ; a line of small 
ships of war extending from his right ; behind, and 
in support of these, the Leyden, of .64 guns, was 
stationed. 

It had at first been his lordship's intention, to have 
made the attack with the bomb-ketches only ; and the 
motive for this determination was judicious in the ex- 
treme. The range of shells being infinitely greater 
than that of shot, the vessels from whence they were 



J.ORD NELSON. 23? 

tlirown, were capable of being placed at such a dis- 
tance, that they could carry on their operations and 
attacks completely undisturbed by the enemy. At 
six o'clock, however, it being then nearly high wa- 
ter, and it becoming expedient to acquire every pos- 
sible information with respect to the enemy's force. 
Lord Nelson, in the hope of provoking them to un- 
mask their different batteries, which, on account of 
the cliffs and their colour, were extremely difficult 
to be discovered with any degree of accuracy, as well 
in respect to their numbers as their force, ordered all 
the lighter ships to stand as near into the shore as 
possible, and open their fire along the whole extent 
of the bay, keeping constantly under sail, and put- 
ting about when necessary, for the purpose of recom- 
mencing the attack. A heavy fire consequently took 
place on both sides, but attended with very little in- 
jury to either ; and the ebbing tide prevented its be- 
ing of any long duration. 

The bomb-ketches, not only on account of their 
distance, but their position, lay completely secure 
from the fire of the French batteries : but the enemy, 
soon aware of their own impotence, sent ^ consider- 
able number of men and troops to erect batteries on 
a hill to the eastward side of the bay, from whence 
they would have it in their power to flank the whole 
line of coast ; but, notwithstanding this auxiliary aid, 
the bombs remained in tolerable security, owing to 
their being placed at too great a distance from their 
new assailants to the westward. The principal ob- 
ject which his lordship had in view, in the dispositions 



238 MEMOIRS OF 

he made, was to drive the whole of the enemy's flotilla 
from the positions they had taken, and compel them 
to seek in haste for shelter at the mouth of the har- 
bour. If it were possible, argued his lordship, to 
carry this measure completely into effect, the vessels 
of the enemy becoming closely crouded together, 
would naturally present a fairer object to the assail- 
ants ; v»'hose shells might from thence be expected, 
without much fear of disappointment, to become 
much more destructive. It was intended to have 
sent under cover of the night, three of the bomb-ves- 
sels, close in with the shore : all of them vv ere to be 
towed in by boats ; ten being appropriated for that 
service to each, as well as to aid in bringing them oft' 
should any unforeseen disaster take place. A shift 
of the wind, however, unfortuna.tely taking place, the 
attack became unadviseable, or perhaps impractica- 
ble, without incurring a risk which his lordship did 
not think himself justifiable in hazarding. As a fur- 
ther continuance in the same station was thus become 
unnecessary, at least for the present, the whole arma- 
ment was ordered to haul off to the station it had oc- 
cupied before it proceeded to the attack. 

Thus ended the lirst attempt ; which, though at- 
tended v.'ith but trivial disadvantage to the enemy, 
was, it must be remembered, effected without loss on 
the side of the assailants. Britain, on her part, had at 
least proved her naval superiority to the world, by 
making the attempt ; and France had confessed her 
impotence, and her fears, by the exertions she had felt 
herself compelled to make, in order to parry the at- 



LORD NELSON, gog 

tack.* In the official account given by his lordship 
of the transaction, we again trace all those benign 
sentiments of benevolence and philanthropy which 
on every preceding occasion had marked his conduct. 
He warred only with those who opposed him ; the 
unoffending inhabitants he assailed not : on the con- 
trary, he issued the most positive orders, that every 
possible precaution should be used by those under 
his orders, to prevent their sustaining an injury. It 
is a matter of sufficient triumph to British humanity, 

* « Medusa, off Boulogne. 
" Sir, 

" The enemy's vessels, brigs, and fiats, (lugger rigged) and a 
schooner, twenty-four in number, were this morning at day-light 
anchored in a line in the front of Boulogne. The winds being 
favourable for the bombs to act, I made the signal for tliem to 
weigh, and to throw shells at the vessels ; but as little as possible 
to annoy the town. The captains placed their ships in the best 
possible position, and in a few hours three of the flats and a brig 
were sunk ; and in the course of the morning six were on shore, 
evidently much damaged. At six in the evening, being high 
water, five of the vessels which had been aground, hauled with 
difficulty into the mole ; the others remained under water. I be- 
lieve the whole of the vessels would have gone Inside the pier, 
but for want of water. What damage the enemy has sustained, 
beyond what we see, it is impossible to tell. The whole of this 
aifalr is of no further consequence, than to show the enemy they 
cannot, with impunity, come outside the ports. The officers of 
the artillery threw the shells with great skill ; and I am sorry 
that Captain Fyers, of the royal arliilery, is slightly wounded by 
the bursting of an enemy's shell ; and two seamen are also wound- 
ed. A gun-vessel is this moment sunk. 

" I am, occ. Sec. 

" Nelson and Bronte." 



240 MEMOIRS OF 

that the conduct of her commanders, when contrast- 
ed with those of France, should cause the rest of the 
universe to shudder at the comparison. 

But however unequal to the wishes and perhaps 
expectations of his lordship, the event had proved, 
he most magnanimously desisted from showing the 
smallest mortification, or disappointment; on the 
contrary, he bestowed the highest encomiums on the 
conduct of those who acted under his orders.* 

On the 6th of August, his lordship quitted his sta- 
tion off Boulogne, and repaired with the greater part 
of his fleet to Margate roads, leaving a sufficient force 
to watch the motions of the enemy : the gun-boats 
and smaller vessels proceeded ho^vever no fiirther 
than the Downs ; and the return itself was, in reality, 
one of those ingenious feints so frequently practised 

* " Medusa, off Boulogne, Aug. 5th. 
«« Lord Nelson has reason to be very much satisfied with the 
captains of the bombs, for the placing of their vessels yesterday. 
It was impossible they could have been better situated ; and the 
artillery officers have shown great skill in entirely disabling ten of 
the armed vessels, out of twenty-four opposed to them ; and ma- 
ny others. Lord Nelson believes, are much damaged. The com- 
mander in chief cannot avoid noticing the great zeal and desire to 
auack the enemy in a closer and different combat, which mani- 
fested itself in all ranks of persons ; and which Lord Nelson would 
gladly have given full scope to, had the attempt at this moment 
been proper : but the officers and others may rely, that an early 
opportunity shall be given them, for showing their judgment, 
zeal and bravery. The hired and revenue cutters kept under 
sail and performed the duty entrusted to them with a great deal 

of skill. 

(Signed) " Nelson and Bronte." 



LORD NELSON. 241 

in war, for the purpose of deceiving, or perplexing 
the attention of the enemy. In the hope of carrying 
this ingenious stratagem to its fullest extent, his 
lordship, after continuing two days in Margate roads, 
during which he never once came on shore, again 
put to sea ; but, as if Flushing, or some other port 
on the Dutch coast, had been marked out as the in- 
tended object of his attack, he steered an easterly 
course, though the real object he had in view still 
remained the same. The foree under his orders be- 
came considerably augmented, by the arrival of a 
number of small vessels, which had been fitted 
out with the utmost expedition, for the purpose of 
joining in the second attack ; so that it now amount- 
ed, including all rates and descriptions, to seventy 
sail. The enemy, on their part, had been no less 
diligent and active. The former attack had been of 
essential use to them : it enabled them to contem- 
plate all the weak as well as the stronger and more 
advantageous parts of their position, and erect batte- 
ries wherever they -were considered likely to be ser- 
viceable. In addition to these measures, warned by 
the fears which had agitated them on a former occa- 
sion, their army in the neighbourhood had been 
again considerably reinforced ; so that the heights, 
to the extent of three miles in length, were com- 
pletely covered by encampments. 

Although the object for the destruction and de- 
fence of which such mighty preparations were made, 
was so extremely insignificant, that the expenses in- 
curred on both sides more than tripled that which the 
flotilla itself had cost in the equipment j yet it appear- 



242 'MEMOIRS OF 

ed one of those nugatory points which fiequentlj^ 
occur in the course of war, for the maintenance, or 
ruin of which, contending nations, without any plau* 
sible, or perhaps ostensible reasons, frequently make 
the strongest exertions. For France had long boasted 
throughout Europe, and indeed every other quarter 
of the world, of the meditated mischief which was 
about to fall on Britain, under the fostering protection 
of this contemptible armament. Britain on her part 
felt herself rather teased into acting the part of a 
froward child, tormented with the threat of an ima- 
ginary bugbear, than as called upon to make exer- 
tions for the actual preservation of her subjects from 
the ravages of a banditti. It was not sufficient for 
her to be convinced in her own mind, that the threat 
itself was probably nothing more than the nierc eifu- 
sion of French arrogance and vanity, without any 
real intention of prosecuting the attempt beyond 
alarm ; but she thought herself in some measure 
called upon to manifest her own dignity and conse- 
quence, to prove the arrogance, and the emptiness 
of the threat. Such conduct on the part of an ad- 
versary, frequently excites those feelings. 

In respect to the views and the wishes of his coun- 
try, whatever might have been the first moving cause 
that gave them birth, no person could possibly have 
entered into them with more zeal and animation than 
his lordship. He appeared as if roused almost above 
his customary ardour. To an active and daring 
mind, it has been justly remarked, a mind habituated 
to overcome all obstacles offered to impede the pur- 
suit of victory and glory, the late success in disa- 



LORD NELSON. t43 

bling orrly a portion of the flotilla appeared as a 
defeat, or at best a disappointment, rather than in 
the light of a triumph. In brief, the destruction, 
or the capture of the flotilla moored ofl" Boulogne^ 
was an object as dear to his lordship's mind, notwith- 
standing its insignificance, as the successful achieve- 
ment of the most arduous enterprise in which he ever 
had been engaged. 

His lordship arrived off Boulogne on the 15th, and 
immediately formed the necessary arrangements for 
the intended attack. The obstacles to success, it is 
certain, appeared formidable, but by no means in- 
superable ; and the cause which ultimately prevented 
that success, in its fullest extent, as it was one of 
those minutias which a brave mind would almost in- 
variably overlook, so did the adoption of the precau- 
tion reflect on the enemy as much disgrace, as their 
defeat would have done. On the evening of the 15th, ' 
the vessels composing the fleet were ordered to form 
themselves so soon as it became dark, in four divi- 
sions.* The French line of vessels were defended 

* Copy of Lord Nelson's dispatches. 
« Sir, « Medusa, off Boulogne, Aug. IS. 

" Having judged It proper to attempt bringing off the enemy's 
flotilla, moored in front of Boulogne, I directed the attack to be 
made by four divisions of boats, for boarding, under the command 
of Captains SomervIUe, Cotgrave, Jones, and Parker, and a divi- 
sion of howitzer-boats under Captain Conn. The boats put off 
from the Medusa at half past eleven last night, in the best possi- 
ble order, and before one o'clock this morning the firing began j 
and I had, from the judgment of the officers, and the zeal and gal- 
lantry of every man, the most perfect confidence of complete suc- 
cess ; but the darkness of the night, with the tide and half tide. 



244 MEMOIRS OF 

by long poles, headed with spikes of iron projecting' 
from their sides ; they were guarded also from the 

separated the divisions, and to all not arriving at the same mo- 
ment with Captain Parker, is to be attributed the failure of suc- 
cess. But I beg to be perfectly understood, that not the smallest 
blame attaches itself to any person ;for although the divisions 
did not arrive together, yet each (except the fourth division, which 
could not be got up before day) made a successful attack on that 
part of the enemy they fell in with, and actually took possession 
of many brigs and flats, and cut their cables. But many of them 
being aground at the moment of the battle's ceasing on board 
them, the vessels were filled with voUies upon vollies of musket- 
ry, the enemy being perfectly regardless of their own men, who 
must have suffered equally with us ; It was therefore impossible 
to remain on board even to burn them ; but allow me to say, who 
have seen much service this war, that more determined persever- 
ing courage I never witnessed ; and that nothing but the impos- 
sibility of being successful, from the causes I have mentioned, 
could have prevented me from having congratulated their lord- 
ships. But although in point of value the loss of such gallantry 
and good men is Incalculable ; yet, in point of number, it has fall- 
en short of my expectations. I must also beg leave to state, that 
greater zeal, and ardent desire, to distinguish themselves by an 
attack on the enemy, were never shown than by all the captains, 
officers, and crews of all the different descriptions of vessels un- 
der my command. The commanders of the Hunter and Grey- 
hound revenue-cutters went in their boats in the most handsome 
and gallant manner to the attack. 

Among the many brave men wounded, I have, with the deepest 
regret, to place the name of my gallant good friend, and able as- 
sistant, Captain Edward T. Parker ; also my flag- lieutenant, Fre- 
derick Langford, who has served with me many years. They 
were both wounded in attempting to board the French commo- 
dore. To Captain Gore of the Medusa, 1 feel the highest obliga- 
tions ; and when their lordships look at the loss of the Medusa on 
this occasion, they will agree with me, that the honour of my 



LORD NELSON. 245 

attempts of boarders ; a species of attack which 
they feared more than any other, by strong nettings 
braced up on the upper side to their lower yards. — 
The smallest vessel contained one hundred and fifty 
and some of them two hundred soldiers ; added to 
which, the line they were moored in, was so close to 
the shore, that they were protected not only by the 
land batteries, but also by the musketry of troops 
stationed in or near them. The assailants were pro- 
vided with boarding pikes, tomahawks and cutlasses 
only, the use of muskets having been peremptorily 
forbidden, lest a fire, casually began, in spite of eve- 
ry precaution, might have alarmed the enemy too 
soon. The mode of attack, and the different events 
which took place during its continuance, cannot be 
better related than in the official details which were 
given of this transaction at the time : they will prove 
the completest refutation of any malicious attempt to 
blame his lordship's want of a more extended suc- 
cess, or his merit in having deserved it, if such, ow- 
ing to the strange depravity of the human mind, 
should ever start "up. 

flag, and the cause of their king and country, could never have 
been placed in more gallant hands. Captain Bedford of the Ley- 
den, with Captain Gore, very handsomely offered their services 
to serve under a master and commander ; but I did not think it 
fair to the latter, and I only mention it to mark the zeal of those 
officers. From the nature of the attack only a few prisoners were 
made ; a lieutenant, eight seamen, and eight soldiers, are all they 
brought off. 

" I have the honour to be, &c. 

Nelson and Bronte." 
P. S. Captain Somerville was the senior master and command- 
er employed. 



i846 MEMOIRS OF 

Perhaps the true principles of greatness were iievei' 
so manfully conspicuous in his conduct, as in the 
present instance. Mortified and chagrined as he 
must have been, that a victory the most decisive in 
its nature had not crowned his attempt, yet he sought 
not to shelter himself, even from his own reflection, 
by resorting in the smallest degree, to the customary 
though truly scandalous mode of inventing blame, 
and attaching it to points and to persons, with which 
it ought by no means to be connected. His lordship 
paid the sincerest tribute to all engaged, under his 
orders ; he stated the most satisfactory reasons, in 
full exculpation of those whom fortune and natural 
impediments prevented from joining in the attack ; 
and he candidly recounted the causes which opposed 
his triumph : one of them was extremely singular, 
aiid to a generous, a spirited foe must have proved 
as fully mortifying, as the most perfect defeat could 
have done. On the 18th, his lordship seizing the 
earliest opportunity in his power, to quiet the harras- 
scd feelings of those he so ardently expected to have 
led to unqualified victory, issued the following gene- 
ral orders, than which, it was impossible, perhaps, to 
contrive any that would have more effectually contri- 
buted to the desired purpose. 

" Medusa, Downs, August 18. 
** Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson has tl:ie greatest satisfaction in 
sending to the captains, officers, and men under his command, that 
were employed in tlie late attempt on the enemy's flotilla off Bou- 
logne, an extract of a letter which he has received from the first 
lord of the admiralty ; not only approving of their zeal and per- 
severing courage, but bestowing the highest praise on them. The 
vice-admiral begs to assure them, that the enemy Vifill not have; 



LORD NELSON. 247 

K)r)? reason to boast of their security ; for he trusts, ere long, to 
assist tJiem in person, in a way which will completely annihilate 
the whole of them. Lord Nelson is convinced, that if it had been 
possible for men to have brought the enemy's flotilla out, the men 
tlaat were employed to do so, would have accomplished it. The 
moment the enemy have the audacity to cast off the chains 
which fix their vessels to die ground, that moment Lord Nelson 
is well persuaded, they will be conducted by his brave followers 
to a British port, or sent to the bottom. 

(Signed) *' Nelson and Bronte." 

While his lordship, on his part, was using every 
possible means in his power, to sooth the feelings 
of others ; to the high praise of the admiralty board, 
be it added, that it was no less solicitous to afford the 
same species of consolation to him ; and tlie first 
lord, forgetting the natural severity of his situation, 
and the customary coolness, too often, very injurious- 
ly shown to the most gallant men, where the suc- 
cess has sunk below the expectation which attended 
the enterprise, is said to have written to his Icrdship 
the annexed letter ; a letter which we consider as 
bearing sufficient testimonies within itself of its be- 
ing authentic, to authorize our saying we believe it 
to be so. 

Extract of a letter from the Earl of St. Vincent to Lord Viscount 
Nelson, K. B. dated the 17th instant. 
** It is not given us to command success.- Your lordship, and 
the gallant officers and men under your orders, certainly deserve 
it ; and I cannot sufficiently express my admiration of the zeal 
and persevering courage with which this gallant enterprise was 
followed up, lamenting most sincerely the loss sustained in it. — 
The manner in which the enemy's flotilla was fastened to the 
ground, could not have been foreseen. The highest praise is 
due to your lordship, and all under your command, who were 
actors in this gallant attempt." 



248 MEMOIRS OF 

The toil and dangers attendant on the encounter 
itself being concluded, his lordship's attention be- 
came, as it were, naturally, directed to the care of 
those, who had received wounds while fighting under 
his orders. Almost immediately on his arrival at 
Deal, nay, the very first occupation in which he was 
engaged, was that of visiting the hospital ; and it is 
needless to add, that this kind and cordial proof of 
affection, not only afforded the brave sufferers the 
most sensible consolation and pleasure, but that his 
all-penetrating eye, scrutinizing every inconvenience 
under which they laboured, enabled him, where cir. 
cumstances would permit, to apply the best pallia- 
tives, and remedies towards them. Several anecdotes 
are related of his conduct on this occasion ; one of 
them in particular merits attention. On inquiring 
of one man whom he recollected, what his aliment 
was, he learnt that he had lost an arm ; Lord Nelson 
told him to never mind that, for that he himself had 
lost one also, and perhaps should shortly lose a leg ; 
but that they could never be lost in a better cause, 
than in the defence of their country. This had a 
wonderful effect on the seamen ; several of them ex- 
claimed, that they only regretted their wounds, as 
they prevented them accompanying him in another 
attack on their enemies. In fine,' he treated each 
individual with all the affable attention he could have 
done, had he been his intimate friend, or relative. 
After inquiring into their several cases, he left them, 
with the most cordial expressions of his wishes, and 
confidence that he should soon bring them good 
news, and find their health perfectly re-established. 



LORD NELSON. 249 

The preceding instances, and display of a truly- 
noble and generous mind, were by no means new 
in his lordship ; as will appear by the annexed an- 
ecdotes relative to him, which are reported to have 
taken place in the preceding year. During his 
lordship's visit at Salisbury, in the month of Decem- 
ber 1800, he discovered a sailor among the crowd, 
before the council house in that city, who proved to 
have been one of the persons who had fought under, 
the orders of his lordship, at the battle off Aboukir : 
the recollection of a man, who had hazarded his life 
in company with himself, and had contributed there- 
by to the service and the glory of his country, con- 
nected with the idea of his having been one among 
the humble instruments of his own exaltation, affect- 
ed him extremely ; he called to him, and after most 
warmly expressing the satisfaction he should always 
feel, on meeting any person who had borne an active 
part in the transactions of that proud day, made him 
a handsome present, to which he added the most 
hearty wish for his future welfare and prosperity. 
Another man afterwards presented himself, who had 
experienced at the Helder Point, a similar misfortune 
of the loss of an arm, to that which had befallen his 
lordship off Teneriffe : no thought attached to the 
distinction of rank appeared ever to have taken pos- 
session of this brave man's mind ; he found himself 
as to bodily injury in a similar predicament with the 
poor individual he then beheld ; his sympathy was 
awakened ; and the only difference in their condition 
his benevolence allowed him to recollect, was that 
of bis own better fortune ; a proof of which his fellow 

33 



250 MEMOIRS OF 

sufferer immediately experienced, by the liberLil to- 
ken he gave him of his generous compassion for his 
misfortunes. The third anecdote is, ifpossible, much 
more interesting than either of the preceding : it is 
a fact, though certainly a very singular one, that he 
should next discover among the huzzaing multitude, 
a person who had attended him at the time he lost 
his arm, and assisted at the amputation : the noble 
admiral beckoned him up to the stairs of the coun- 
cil house, and meeting him as he approached the 
room, took him by the hand with a present in 
his own, with looks expressive of the remembrance 
for the tender services he had experienced from him 
on that melancholy occasion : as the man withdrew, 
he took from his bosom a piece of lace which he had 
torn from the sleeve of the amputated arm, declaring 
he would preserve it to his last breath, in memory of 
his late a-allant commander, whom he should ahvavs 
deem it the honour of his life to have served. Lord 
Nelson bade him farevvel, with an emotion which no 
effort could stifle. 

In consequence of the preliminaries of peace, 
which were signed presently afterwards, the impor- 
tant services of his Lordship during the current war, 
were plosed by the attack on Boulogne. While he 
was engaged in it, the following notification, as to 
the extension of his Barony, appeared in the London 
Gazette, dated August 1st : Right Honourable Ho- 
ratio Lord Viscount Nelson, K. B. Vice- Admiral of 
the Blue, Duke of Bronte, in Sicily, Knight of the 
Grand Cross of the Order of St. Ferdinand and of 
Merit, and of the Imperial Order of the Crescent, 



LORD NELSON. 251 

created a Baron of the united kingdom of Great 
Britain and Ireland, by the name, style, and title, of 
Baron Nelson of the Nile, and of Hilborourgh in the 
county of Norfolk, with remainder to the heirs male 
of his body lawfully begotten ; and in default of such 
issue, to Edmund Nelson, Clerk, Rector of Burn- 
ham Thorpe, in the said county of Norfolk, Father 
of the said Horatio Viscount Nelson, and the heirs 
male of his body lawfully begotten, and to the heirs 
male lawfully begotten, and to be begotten, sev- 
erally and successively, of Susannah, the wife 
of Thomas Bolton Esq. and sister of the said Ho- 
ratio Viscount Nelson ; and in default of such is- 
sue, to the heirs male of Catherine, the wife of 
George Matcham, Esq. another sister of the said 
Viscount Nelson." The preceding was followed by 
a second notification on the 12th of the ensuing 
month, which stated, that Lord Viscount Nelson had 
been permitted, by his Majesty's warrant dated Jan- 
uary 7th, 1801, to adopt for himself and heirs, the 
title of Duke of Bronte, with the fief of the Dutchy 
annexed thereto ; and also to receive the Great Cross 
of the Order of St. Ferdinand and of Merit, all con- 
ferred on him by Ferdinand the 4th, King of the two 
Sicilies." 

Such is the interesting catalogue of the important 
services rendered by his lordship to his country, dur.. 
ing one of the most bloody wars in which England 
had been engaged, for the space of centuries. In 
respect to the length of its duration it had rarely 
been exceeded ; in the importance of its object, 
never ; the principles on which it had began, became 



252 MEMOIRS OF 

changed indeed, during the continuance of it, but 
were in no degree less horrible than they had been in 
its commencement. The preservation of the inter- 
nal tranquility of France, the restoration of the 
Bourbon ilimily totheirjust rights and functions, and 
the arrangement of an established form of govern- 
ment, framed according to the wishes of the people, 
provided that arrangement did not interfere with the 
peace and domestic safety of every other state and 
government in Europe, were the motives which first 
induced Britain to draw the sword of war. 

These motives however were soon put an end to, 
by the fury of the savage banditti who had usurped 
the French government. Not content with the an- 
nihilation of order throughout the extensive domin- 
ions of that country, once called France, they boldly 
avowed, they menaced their intention and determina^ 
lion, of carrying the same infernal purpose into effect, 
through every country that presumed to oppose 
them. The war ceased to be conducted according 
to those regulations which had ever been considered 
as inviolable laws in all contests between christian 
^nd civilized nations ; and Britain found, with the 
sincerest sorrow, that if she wished to place herself 
on an exact and equal footWig with her opponent, she 
must totally divest herself of her humanity, and call 
forth her druids from their graves, to atteijd her ar- 
mies, as they were wont to do in the days of barba- 
rism, that they might commence their dreadful and 
sanguinary sacrifices to the god of battle, by the im- 
molation of all those unfortunate persons whom the 
chance of war threw into their hands. 



LORD NELSON. 253 

» 

The ravages of the horde spread like a pestilence, 
no country \vhere they were once able to obtain a 
footing, could withstand them : where force failed, 
corruption succeeded ; so that in a few years Britain 
had the dreadful mortification of beholding the whole 
of those states, which were strongly allied to her at 
the commencement of the dispute, either leagued in 
arms against her, or compelled to submit to an igno- 
minious quietude. She herself stood alone, great and 
unappalled ; nor will either the present, or any fu- 
ture age venture to deny, that among the first causes 
that created her greatness, and removed her fears, 
was the conduct of Horatio Nelson. 

When Spain, cajoled by the promises, or terrified 
by the threats of that self- constituted body of tyrants, 
called the French Directory, deserted the honest 
cause in which she had been engaged, her energies 
were paralyzed on the instant of their first exertion ; 
she fell, as if awed by the intervention of some pre- 
ternatural power, and shrinking within herself, made 
no efforts whatever to remedy the disaster, or palliate 
the disgrace which she had sustained in the encoun- 
ter off Cape St. Vincent. To whom could she attri- 
bute this disaster, this humiliation, and this digrace? 
It was imputable to only one cause ; and it would be 
an insult to the understanding of the world to pre-r 
scribe the answer; "At eighteen minutes before 
one," says the journal of the Captain, " that ship hav- 
ing passed on the starboard tack the last of the ene- 
my's line of nineteen sail, which were on the larboard 
tack, the Spanish Admiral, in the Santissima Trini- 
dada, bore up, evidently with a design to join a divi- 



254 MEMIORS OF 

sion of his fleet of eight sail of the line, which were 
on the Captain's bow ; on which the commodore or- 
dered the ship to be wore : when passing between the 
Diadem and the Excellent, she was immediately en- 
gaged by the Santissima Trinidada, a four- decked 
ship, and two other three deckers, and several two 
deckers ; so that, at one time, we were engaged by 
nine line of battle ships, in which we were most no- 
bly supported by Captain Troubridge, of the Cullo- 
den ; the Spanish gdmiral desisted from the attempt 
of joining his other division, and hauled to the wind 
on the larboard tack." Although the journal has 
been already given at full length, yet the repetition of 
the preceding extract will not perhaps be considered 
as a redundancy, as it tends so effectually to explain 
the circumstance, on which the event of the battle 
turned. It will be seen also, on referring to the short 
minute, written by Lord Nelson himself, of the same 
transaction, with what peculiar modesty he passes 
over an occurrence so highly honourable to himself, 
and displaying the utmost splendour of his character, 
attributes his success as almost entirely proceeding 
from the conduct of others ; in justice to whom it 
must be owned, that as the example of their leader 
seemed calculated to inspire them with every proper 
confidence in their own strength, so did they mani- 
fest to their antagonists, and to the world, that their 
magnanimity appeared to rise to an unusual and un- 
precedented height, as a counterbalance to those 
fearful odds, to which they were opposed. 

His lordship's conduct in the action just referred 
to, incontrovertibly evinces the strongest and most 



LORD NELSON. 255 

attive comprehension of mind, together with a quick- 
ness of ability, in nautical manoeuvres, which cer- 
tainly had never been exceeded on any preceding 
occasion whatever. The delay, the hesitation of a 
moment, would have placed victory beyond his reach ; 
and although by the act itself, he incurred a most 
heavy and serious responsibility, a responsibility 
which, had his measures failed of success, might 
have materially affected himself ; he nevertheless 
seized with avidity, what he considered the glorious 
opportunity, and led his brave companions to con- 
quest, without coldly conforming to the antient code 
of discipline, and waiting for orders, when fortune 
offered him an opportunity of confounding the plans 
invented by the enemies of his country. 

The battle of Aboukir placed his lordship's nau- 
tical conduct and abilities in a new point of view. 
He there became the cool and deliberate commander 
in chief ; weighing his future plans with the utmost 
care and circumspection ; providing for every diffi- 
culty that his sagacity and all-penetrating mind could 
foresee. He arranged different modes of attack for 
every different situation in which the enemy might 
be met with ; so that it would be no empty vaunt to 
say, that however the mortified pride of France, may 
attempt to cover her disgrace by imputing it to the mis- 
fortune of their fleet having been surprised at anchor : 
flimsy as their pretended apology is, it avails them 
nothing. It appears on the most undeniable testimo- 
ny, that whether they had been discovered at sea, or 
in port, at anchor, or under sail, encumbered with a 
convoy of transports, or freed from any impediment 



255 MEMOIRS OF 

whatever to their best exertions, still was his lord- 
ship equally well provided against every case which 
could possibly occur ; and arguing from what we 
know, it would almost be a libel on his character to 
doubt that in every case he would have been equally 
successful, 1 

If, on the former occasion, victory produced the 
effect of rendering the Spanish navy an inactive spec- 
tator of the war, its influence on the present, was 
equally advantageous and serviceable to Britain. 
The motley horde, denominated the army of France, 
had subdued Italy, overrun a considerable part of the 
continent of Europe, and had either conquered, or 
neutralized, almost every state, and government 
which it contained. The voracious appetite of con- 
quest was not even yet sufficiently glutted ; India, 
and in particular the possessions of Britain in that 
quarter, appeared to hold forth a mine of wealth, 
equal in its actual and accruing value, to the aggre- 
gate plunder which France had till that time carried 
off from all the other countries she had attacked, and 
subjugated, or had extorted as the price of a meanly 
purchased, temporary quietude. Those who had 
assumed the government of France had the audacity 
to declare, that the fate of India was irrevocably fix- 
ed ; that the possession of its treasures was decreed 
to France ; with a myriad of other expressions, bear- 
ing the same tendency, too weak, too ridiculous for 
repetition. Such indeed were the hopes and expec- 
tations perhaps of that country, and its governors, 
and the effect of those hopes and expectations being 
realized, would have been so dreadful, that the con- 



LORD NELSON, 257 

templative politician shudders almost at the recoUec* 
lion of an event so important ; an event Vvhich, in all 
human probability, depended on the termination of 
the battle off Aboukir. 

The modern Kouli Khan felt his progress arrest- 
ed ; he found himself deceived in the romantic idea 
he attempted to promulge, that he bore in his hand 
the destinies of the v. orld ; when his army ceased 
to be stationary, it was defeated, and his own ridicu- 
lous and frantic folly increased its disasters. Europe 
considered the spell as broken ; nations now no longer 
deemed the power of France invincible ; many of 
them flew to arms, for the recovery of their rights, 
and aided by Britain, freed themselves from the yoke 
of tyranny and oppression. 

The next action, the attack on Copenhagen, again 
varied, in the circumstances that attended it, from 
either of the preceding, and required a distinct line of 
abilities, to render it in any degree successful : for 
though various naval attacks on preceding occasions, 
and in former wars, had been made on towns and 
fortresses, and had proved fortunate in their conclu- 
sion, yet none of them were attended with the same 
disadvantages as the present : the Danes themselves 
were so well satisfied of the impregnability of their 
position, that they considered the arrival of the British 
Heet, rather as a vain attempt to intimidate them, 
than as one seriously intended for their chastisement. 
The success frequently obtained by ships when op- 
posed to fortresses, has been attributed, with the 
strictest truth, to the great superiority of fire, vvhich 

34 



2SS MEMOIRS OF 

the former are always capable of maintaining against 
the defences of a fortification. 

To be explicit, thirty-seven guns being the number 
contained in the broadside of a battering ship of a 
medium class, are probably opposed to four, or at 
most six which the fortress is capable of bringing to 
bear on her : in the attack of Copenhagen, however, 
no such superiority existed ; her ships had all the 
force of batteries, for they were purposely prepared 
for the occasion, and rendered superior to their as- 
sailants, by every artificial aid scientific ingenuity 
could contrive ; the number of guns mounted on 
board them, equalled as near as possible those in the 
British fleet ; added to which, they derived the most 
important support from the Trekroner, or crov.ai bat- 
teries, on which were mounted eighty-eight pieces 
of heavy cannon. These obstacles all gave way be- 
fore the assiduity, and spirit of Lord Nelson ; and it 
were difficult perhaps to decide, in which particular 
his transcendant merit appeared most conspicuous ; 
whether in his care and attention to the discovery of 
the proper track, or course which it w^as necessary 
his squadron should take previous to the commence- 
ment of the contest, his firmness as a hero during 
the continuance of it, or his abilities as a statesman, 
after its conclusion. Taken together they certainly 
eifected a service to the nation which perhaps has 
never been equalled ; beyond all possibility of dis- 
pute, or cavil, never exceeded. The effects of the 
former victories have been already stated ; those pro- 
duced by the present, were not less important. 



LORD NELSOIT. 259 

The visionary conqueror of India, foreseeing the 
ultimate, and perhaps not far distant termination to 
his Egyptian expedition, returned once more to re- 
new the scene of blood, of corruption, and every base 
act of political chicane, on the political theatre of 
Europe. What effect, or rather what was the ex- 
tent of the effect, which the secret machinations of 
his diabolical emissaries, and himself, produced, in 
giving birth to the northern confederacy, and foster- 
ing it, till it arrived at mischievous maturity, it is 
impossible to say, with any thing like precision, un- 
less the perfect history of those intrigues were fairly 
to be developed, and made known to the world. 
Britain felt the influence, and knew the source from 
whence it sprang, though the eye was unable to trace 
the channel through which it passed. It is sufficient to 
say, that however warily this plan of humiliation and 
destruction might be laid, the genius of Nelson ap- 
peared as selected by providence, not to circumvent 
and oppose, but to overvv^helm it. Thus, for the 
third time, did the Supreme Disposer of all human 
events, place the preservation of England within his 
reach ; and thus, for the third time, did he nobly 
discharge the trust reposed in him. 

Fortunate as the exertions of his lordship proved 
on all occasions to his country, there are few persons 
who have been less subject to disaster than himself. 
To recapitulate the number, and the nature of the 
wounds which he received, would be truly afflicting 
to humanity itself. Were not the facts incontroverti- 
ble, future ages would scarcely credit the fatigues 
he underwent, the frequent indispositions induced by 
a constitution naturally of a most delicate texture, 



260 MEMOIRS OP 

which he bore with patience, and the bodily injuries 
received in the exercise of his profession, which he 
had survived. He appeared, if the expression be al- 
lowed, to be all soul, and that soul to be unshakeably 
devoted to the service of his God, and of his country. 

The honours that were conferred on him, were, it 
must be confessed, numerous ; they exceeded far per- 
haps his own wishes and expectations, but not his 
merits : they were such, however, as the usage of his 
country warranted ; and had they been less, his lord- 
ship would have accepted them with grateful con- 
tent. That they were not infinitely superior was his 
misfortune, and not the crime of those who directed 
towards him the favour of his sovereign. To have 
exceeded those limits, which the long established 
usage in bestowing honours had erected into a law, 
"Would have constituted a precedent highly censura- 
ble, and from which, the honour of the noble person 
himself, feeling itseii insulted and disgraced, would 
have turned with indignation. 

The fact was, that at an age, when many men, 
and of excellent characters too, had risen to no pub- 
lic and pre-eminent command, commodore Nelson 
had, by a continued series of the most brilliant ac- 
tions, raised himself as a child of the highest expec- 
tation, and was most deservedly invested with the 
command of a squadron. In this capacity, he sur- 
passed the highest expectations that had been formed 
ot him, and the power of Spain shrunk beneath his 
grasp. Great as the service was, and superior as 
would have been his reward, had his rank in the 
iiaval service, and the station he then held, permit- 
ted it, those who would willingly have conferred on 



LORD NELSON". 251 

him the highest honours, reluctantly felt themselves 
thwarted and cramped, by what is quaintly termed 
the etiquette of the service. 

He became a flag officer ; he was selected to com- 
mand an expedition, on the success of which the fate 
of Europe depended ; he overtook the armament of 
the enemy, and acliieved a victory, which, in re- • 
spect to extent, had n^ver been equalled. He was 
honomed w idi a peerage : on this occasion, for the 
second time, was the munificence and liberality of his 
prince cramped by custom. Notwithstanding he was 
a flag oflieer, he was one of the youngest class, he 
commanded a detachment only, and, consequently, 
acted in a subordinate capacity. Under those cir- 
cumstances, there was no precedent for bestowing 
on him a superior rank. At Copenhagen, the same 
cause, for a third time, produced the same eflect 
aiKl he was raised from the rank of baron to that of 
viscount only. Thus it was, that with the most per- 
fectly acknowledged claim to the highest honours, 
for the excellent service v/hich he had rendered, in 
the first, and every other of the instances just related, 
he did not, owing to the peculiarity of hiS) situation, 
live to attain that honour, which had been bestowed, 
we will not say undeservedly, on the man, v. ho at the 
head of ninety-nine ships of the line, was represented 
as the saviour of England, because he had defeated 
that of France, which consisted of forty-four only.* 

* The combined fleet of England and Holland, under the 
command of Admiral Russel, at the battle off la Hogue, con- 
sisted of ninety-nine ships, all of them of two, or three decks, and 
considered of the line. 



262 . MEMOIRS OF 

The cessation of hostilities, the only event, per- 
haps, that could have caused his lordship's quitting 
the line of active service, aftbrded him the means of 
renovating a constitution, shattered and enervated by 
the long and very laborious occupations in which he 
had been engaged. In peace, however, he by no 
means sunk into obscurity. In civil life he constant- 
ly displayed all those virtues and qualifications, 
which render the private man honourable, and the 
honourable man great. To the courtesy natural to 
an equal, he added an affabilityj conjoined with the 
dignified demeanour of a prince. Thus did he ren- 
der himself beloved, admired, respected, and adored 
by all parties, and by all ranks and conditions of 
men. In his retirement at Merton, he displayed the 
genuine character of an old English baron ; for bene- 
volence and hospitality marked every action of his 
life ; and without possessing the revenue of a prince, 
he exhibited, so far as his means permitted, the mu- 
nificence of one. Here it was, as has been justly re- 
marked, that his unaffected philanthropy first found 
an opportunity of rendering him intimately known to 
those, who before knew of his virtues only by re- 
port. As a senator, he constantly manifested the 
integrity, and the firmness of an honest upright le- 
gislator. When he spoke, he delivered himself in 
the most dignified terms ; and if he thought he dis- 
covered any thing injurious, or reprehensible in a 
measure, he made it his constant rule to state de- 
cidedly his objections, without suffering his mind to 
receive the smallest bias from the opinion even of men 
who, on every other occasion, he thought most high- 



LOUD NELSON. 263 

!y of. He afForded the world a strong and singular 
proof of his strict candour in this respect, during the 
debate which took place in the house of lords, on the 
21st of December, 1802, on the bill for the appoint- 
ment of a commission to inquire into abuses, com- 
mitted by certain boards employed in the naval de- 
partment of public service, and by prize agents. It 
would have been an act of injustice to the character 
of his lordship, had not the speech made by him on 
that memorable occasion never been recorded ; and 
it would now be one, were it omitted.* The subject 

* " M7 Lords — In the absence of my noble friend, who Is at 
the head of the admiralty, I think it my duty to say a few words 
to your lordships, in regard to a bill, of which the objects have an 
express reference to the interests of my profession as a seaman. 
It undoubtedly originates in the feeling of the admiralty, that 
they have not the power to rem^edy certain abuses which they per- 
ceive to be most injurious to the public service. Every man knows 
that there are such abuses ; and I hope there is none among us, 
who would not gladly do all that could be constitutionally effected 
to correct them. Yet, if I had heard of any objection of weight 
urged against the measure in the present bill, I should certainly 
have hesitated to do aught to promote its progress through the 
forms of this house. But I can recollect but one thing with which 
I have been struck, as possibly exceptionable in its tenet. It au- 
thorises the commissioners to call for, and inspect tlie books of 
merchants, who may have had transactions of business with any 
of the boards, or prize agents, into whose conduct they are to in- 
quire. But the credit of the British merchant is the support of 
the commerce of the world ; his books are not lightly, nor for any 
ordinary purpose, to be taken out of his own hands. The secrets 
of his business are not to be too curiously pryed into. The books 
of a single merchant may betray the secrets, not only of his own 
affairs, but of those with whom he is principally connected in bu- 



26 1 MEMOIRS OF 

of debate his lordsl^lp was extremely conversant 
with ; he knew, perhaps, from his own j^ersonal ex- 

siness ; and the reciprocal confidence of the wliolc commercial 
world may, by the authoritative inquiry ot th-se commissioners, 
be shaken ; all this, at least, 1 should h.ive feared as li:^ble to hap- 
pen, if the persons who are named in the bill h;- i not been men 
whose characters are above all suspicion of indiscretion, or raalice. 
I may presume it to be the common conviction of the mevchantSy 
that in such hands they will be safe : since they have made no op- 
position to the bill in its progress ; and since tliey have offered 
no appearance a[;jainst it by counsel, at your lordship's bar. And 
truly, my lord, if the bill be thus superior to all objection, I can 
gffirm, that the necessities, the wrongs of those who are employ- 
ed in the naval service of their country, most loudly call for the 
redress which it proposes. From the highest admiral in the ser- 
vice, to the poorest cabin boy that walks the street, there is not a 
man but may be in distress, with large sums of wages due to him, 
of which he shall, by no diligence of request, be able to obtain 
payment ; not a man, whose entreaties will be readily answered 
with aught but insults, at the proper places for his applicaiion, if 
be come not with particular recommendations to a preference. 
From the highest admiral to the meanest seamen, whatever the 
sums of prize money due to him, no man can tell when he may 
securely call any part of it his own. A man may have 40,0001. 
due to him in prize money, and yet may be dismissed without a 
shilling, if he ask for it at the proper office, w-ithout particular 
recommendation. Are these things to be tolerated ? Is it for the 
interest, is it for the honour of the country, that they should not 
as speedily as possible be redressed ? I should be as unwilling as 
any man to give an overweaning preference to the interests of 
my own profession. But I cannot help thinking, that under all 
the circumstances of the affair, your lordships will be strongly 
disposed to advance this bill into a law, as speedily as may be 
consistent with tlie order of your proceedings, and witii due pru- 
dence of deliberation." 



LORD NELSON. 265 

perience, the enormities that the agents for prizes 
had on some occasions been guilty of, and he felt all 
proper warmth for the interest of his profession. But 
it is to be observed, that he confined himself entirely 
to that single principle of the bill, without interfering 
in the smallest degree with any of the remaining 
points, which it was its object to embrace. Like a 
cautious and prudent swimmer, he ventured not be- 
yond his depth, nor did he presume to hazard his 
opinion on matters he did not thoroughly compre- 
hend, and understand. On such points and parts of 
the bill his lordship displayed dignity, for he preser- 
ved silence. Even the constitutional objections start- 
ed in opposition to it by no means tended to depre- 
ciate his character, or his discernment in having sup- 
ported it : unversed in legal definitions and distinc- 
tions, he sought only to rectify an abuse which he 
was ^certain had existed ; and considering, though 
no lawyer, and spurning the incomprehensible jargon 
of legal debate, that he had an undoubted right, even 
though redress had been perfectly unconstitutional, 
to shelter his opinion from disgrace, or contumely, 
under the universally admitted maxim, that in a free 
countiy there can be no wTong v/ithout a remedy. 

On the third reading of the bill, v/hich took place on the fol- 
lowing day, Lord Nelson expressed also his desire, that the neces- 
sary inquiries into the flagrant abuses by prize agents, might be 
made the subject of a separate act. His lordship at the same 
time owned, that there might be instances in which the delays of 
the payment of prize money resulted, not from the villainy of die 
agents, but from accidents not easily avoidable in tlie common 
course of human affairs. 

35 



260 MEMOIRS OF 

Thus far, the merit and the praise of his lordship 
may be considered negative ; but in the course of his 
speech, we shall find his opinion expressed in the 
most manly style, entitling him to the highest venera- 
tion and respect. His objections to the powers in- 
tended to be given by the bill, authorising inquiries, 
at which his mind revolted as improper, w^ere such, 
as must, to the latest moment of parliamentary dis- 
cussion, entitle him to veneration as a senator, and 
to the love of every man who feels himself warm in 
the welfare of his country, and in his wishes for the 
prosperity of its commerce. 

The relaxation from the fatigues of service proved, 
unfortunately for his lordship, but of short duration. 
The turbulent and insatiably ambitious character of 
the French government, again dragged his lordship 
from his domestic repose, after it had continued for a 
period of eighteen months. The instant it was fore- 
seen that hostilities were likely to commence, the 
eyes and attention of his majesty's ministers were 
strongly impelled toward his lordship, as a person to 
whom the most interesting and important services 
could be confided. The former theatre of war, where 
he had acquired so much glory, the tranquility of the 
Mediterranean, was the station on which he was des- 
tined to act, and the object he was sent to attain. To 
insure the latter, it was necessary for him to keep a 
constant watchful eye over Toulon ; the port from 
whence, in a former war, the fleet had issued, which 
he had so gloriously annihilated. 

The renewal of hostilities was announced in the 
Jiouse of commons on the X6th of May, 1803, and in 



LORD NELSON. 267 

four days afterwards, having previously hoisted his 
flag on board the Victory, of one hundred guns, his 
lordship proceeded to Gibraltar. Rendered wary by 
experience, and intimidated by that terror which his 
very name carried with it, the French army was con- 
tent to owe its safety to its continuance in port ; so 
that notwithstanding every stratagem, every ailure- 
ment his lordship could contrive, in the hope of 
drawing them from their ignoble security into fair 
and manly contest was had recourse to, the enemy con- 
stantly shrunk from the challenge, as though honest- 
ly sensible of their own inferiority in skill and actual 
strength, however numerically superior their force 
might appear. In this uninteresting state of tran- 
quility did the naval operations in the Mediterranean 
continue, during the space of twelve months ; and 
the only occurrence which then took place, that could 
afford any variety to the scene, was a skirmish of the 
most trivial nature, for it was not thought sufficiently 
important to render the publication of an official ac- 
count of it necessary.^- * 

* This will, however, be supplied by the following account, 
transmitted to England by private hands. 

An extract of a letter from on board the Canopus, Admiral 
Campbell's flag-ship, dated off Toulon, May 24th, says, 

" As it is possible you will see in the papers an account of ^ 
slight action with the French, magnified no doubt by them into a 
retreat of the whole British fleet, 1 will give it you as it really was. 
The Canopus, the Donnegal, and a frigate, were detached from 
the fleet to look into Toulon, which we did yesterday morning j 
and after being some hours as near the mouth of the harbour as 
their batteries would allow us, we were rejoiced to see them in 
motion, and, ere long, tliree line of battle ships and three frigates 



268 MEMOIRS OF 

The vigilance of his lordship did not, however, re- 
lax in consequence of the inertness of the enemy, and 
their apparent fixed determination of avoiding all en- 
counter. Their commerce was distressed, their pri- 
vateers captured, and, in fine, the British flag waved 
over all parts of the Mediterranean, and along the 
coasts of France itself, triumphant, and unopposed. 
The most distinguished enterprise undertaken dur- 
ing the remainder of the year, v/as the destruction of 
a number of merchant vessels at la Vandour, in Hie- 
res Bay ; on which transaction Lord Nelson, in con- 
formity with his invariable practice of rendering jus- 
tice to every officer he commanded, makes the fol- 
lowing concise and handsome remark : — " The im- 
portance of the service may be but little, but the de- 
termined bravery of lieutenants Thompson, Parker, 
Lumley, and Moore, and the petty officers, seamen, 
and marines, employed under them could not be ex- 
ceeded." 

So mortified was his lordship at his compulsive 
state of inactivity, that in consequence of the corpo- 
ration of London having voted him thanks for the 
service he had rendered his countr3% by blockading 
the port of Toulon, and thereby preventing the ene^ 

came out : we immediately tacked, in order to draw them from 
the land, but went under an easy sail ; and they soon came with- 
in range of our shot : when they began to fire, we were just sat 
down to dinner, which we took quietly, and then returned their 
fire, meaning to bring them to close action, though far superior. 
We were, however, disappointed, for at this moment we perceiv- 
ed two more ships of the line and one frigate coming to their as- 
sistance. This was too great odds under their own batteries j 
we therefore were obliged to sheer off. 



LORD NELSON. 269 

my's fleet in that quarter from putting to sea, he re- 
turned the subjoined very characteristic answer,* 

* Victory, August 1, 1804<. 
" My Lord, 

" This day I am honoured with your lordship's letter of April 
9th, transmitting me the resolutions of the corporation of the city 
of London, thanking rae, as commanding the fleet blockading 
Toulon. I do assure your lordship, that there is not tliat man 
breathing who sets a higher value upon the thanks of his fellow- 
citizens of London than myself; but I should feel as much asham- 
ed to receive them for a particular service marked in the resolu- 
tion, if I felt that I did not com^e within that line of service, as I 
should feel hurt at having a great victory passed over without 
notice. 

•♦ I beg to inform your lordship that the port of Toulon has 
never been blockaded by me ; quite the reverse ; every opportu- 
nity has been offered the enemy to put to sea, for it is there that 
we hope to realize the hopes and expectations of our country j 
^nd I trust that they will not be disappointed. 

" Your lordship will judge of my feelings, upon seeing that all 
the junior flag officers of other fleets, and even some of the cap- 
tains, have received the thanks of the corporation of London, 
whilst the junior flag officers of tlie Mediterranean fleet are en- 
tirely omitted. I own it has struck me very forcibly ; for, where 
the information of the junior officers and captains of other fleets 
was obtained, the same information could have been given of the 
flag officers oftlils fleet, and the captains ; and it was my duty to 
state, that more able and zealous officers and captains do not grace 
the British navy, than those I have the honour and happiness to 
command. It likewise appears, my lord, a most extraordinary 
circumstance, that Rear-Admlral Sir Richard Bickerton, should 
have been, as second in command in the Mediterranean fleet, 
twice passed over by the corporation of London : once after the 
Egyptian expedition,, when the first and third in command were 
thanked, and now again : consciousness of high desert, instead of 
neglect, made the rear-admiral resolve to let the matter rest until 



270 MEMOIRS OF 

whicli embraced many points extremely Interesting, 
and honourable to his character, and at once explain- 
ed the real stCiie of the case, together with his opi- 
nion of the situation and temper of the enemy. His 
spirited, though modest species of remonstrance to 
the city, in consequence of their supposed neglect in 
not bestowing their thanks on the ofiicers joined with 
himself in command, would cause a repetition of eu- 
logium, which British gratitude might not, perhaps, 
conceive a redundancy, but which becomes unneces- 
sarv, because the act itself was so truly great as to 
render it unnecessary that the merit of it should be 
pointed out. During the remainder of the year* 

he could have an opportunity personally to call upon the lord 
mayor to account for such an extraordhiary omission ; but from 
this second omission, I owe it to that excellent ofrlcer, not to pass 
it by ; and "I do assure your lordship, that the constant, zealous, 
and cordial support I have had in my command from both Rear- 
admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, and Rear-Admiral Campbell, 
has been such as calls forth all my thanks and admiration. We 
have shared together the constant attention of being more than 
fourteen months at sea, and are ready to share the dangers and 
o-lory of a day of battle. Therefore it is impossible that I can 
ever allow myself to be separated in thanks from such supporters. 
I have the honour to remain, with the very highest respect, your 
lordship's most faithful and obedient servant, 

"Nelson and Bronte, 
« To the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor." 

* In the Naval Chronicle, vol. xii. p. 494. the following anec- 
dote is given of his lordship, which reflects far too much credit 
on him to be omitted. 

" On the 1 1th of September, a seaman of the Victory, of 100 
guns, Lord Nelson's flag-ship, fell from the forecastle Into the 



LORD NELSON. 271 

every thing continued in the same passive state. The 
month of January, however, appeared to promise a 
renewal of more active scenes. Spain hud entered 
herself as an ally in the dispute, and the ports of that 
country claimed equal attention on the part of his 
lordship with those of France. The fleet which had 
so long been in a state of complete equipment at Tou- 
lon, anxiously watching for the first apparently safe 
opportunity of putting to sea, pushed out of the har- 
bour on the 15th of January, its force consisting of 
eleven ships of the line and two frigates. Current 
report had assigned Egypt as the most probable place 
of its destination ; and lord Nelson, who, according 
to his wonted custom, though out of sight of Toulon, 
in continuance of the system of decoy, •which he had 
so long pursued without success, vvqs, nevertheless 
at no great distance from it ; he was therefore quick- 
ly informed, that the temerity of Villeneuve, or posi- 
tive orders sent to him for that purpose, had at length 
induced him to quit port ; and the British squadron, 
whose force was not superior to that of the enemy, 
instantly shaped its course to the much wished for 
scene of future encounter. Villeneuve, however, and 
those under whose orders he acted, had far different 

sea : on hearing the cry of a man overboard, Mr. Edward Flin, 
a volunteer, jumped from the quarter-deck after him, and had the 
good fortune to save the man, notwithstanding the extreme dark- 
ness of the night, and the ship at the time being under sail. The 
next morning Lord Nelson sent for Mr. Flln, and presented him 
with a lieutenant's commission, appointing him to the Bittern 
sloop of war : and at the same time said he would strongly re- 
commend him to the lords of the admiralty ; in consequence of 
v/Jiich, their loidships have confirmed him m that appointment." 



2r2 MEMOIRS OF 

views, than the renewal of an expedition to Egypt. 
His lordship pursued him in vain. He traversed the 
Mediterranean without effect, and the force under 
his orders being unfortunately mistaken in various 
places, particularly on the coast of Sicily and Egyptj 
for that of France, the inhabitants of those countries 
felt their fears alarmed to the utmost, dreading a re- 
newal of the same ravages from their new visitors, 
which their conduct, on preceding occasions, taught 
them so much to apprehend. 

The armament of France having encountered a 
storm, not long after it quitted port, returned back 
to Toulon ; while his lordship, deceived by the re- 
pots and false intelligence that had been conveyed 
to him, pursued his fruitless search. On the SOth 
of March Viileneuve again put to sea ; and. finding 
on his arrival oif Carthagena, that the Spanish ships 
in that port were not in a state of equipment suffi- 
ciently forward to join him immediately, he pursued 
his voyage to Cadiz, off which port he arrived on the 
9th of April ;* and being reinforced by the Aigle of 
74 guns, a French ship of war, with six others be- 
longing to Spain, under the orders of Admiral Gra- 
vina, he proceeded, without a moment's loss of time, 
to the West- Indies. 

The escape of so considerable a force as that of 
the combined squadrons had now become, excited 
the highest emotion and anxiety in England ; an 
anxiety not a little increased by the information re- 

* Sir John Orde, who was stationed off that port, with a 
squadron of five ships of the line, retiring on his approach, un- 
molested and unpursued. 



LORD NELSON. 273 

ceived, that the enemy's ships had a land force 
embarked on board them, amountmg to upwards of 
ten thousand men. Doubt and surmise served but 
to increase apprehension, and in the beginning of the 
month of May, the latter v/as considerably height- 
ened in England, on its being discovered that they 
had proceeded to the West Indies. His lordship, 
in the interim, was waiting with the utmost impa- 
tience for the arrival of the enemy in the Sicilian seas : 
his usual good fort,une appeared at length to have 
forsaken him ; for though he had been a long time 
baffled in his former pursuit to the same shores, yet 
success had ultimately crowned his wishes ; but in 
the present instance, Providence appeared to have 
placed it beyond his reach. The middle of April 
arrived ere he received any information that he could 
depend on, either of the enemy's return into port, 
or of their subsequent movements ; not an instant 
was lost in the endeavour to trace the track of their 
flight ; and having found they no longer existed in 
the Mediterranean sea, he pursued his course to the 
Straits of Gibraltar, and arrived at Tetuan early in 
the month of May. The additional intelligence he re- 
ceived at that place, and on his passage thither, con- 
firmed his opinion, that the combined squadrons of 
the enemy were proceeding to the West Indies : and 
notwithstanding the inferiority of his force, and va- 
rious other plausible objections that might have been 
started by an officer less warm in the cause of his 
country than himself, he hesitated not a moment in 
determining to pursue them, not only thither, but to 
any other, even the most distant quarter of the world, 

36 



274 MEMOIRS OP 

whither they might direct their flight, or where they 
might attempt to carry on their merciless depreda- 
tions. The genius of the British colonies appears 
on this occasion to have been particularly active, in 
affording that limited protection which providence 
permitted her to extend to the countries over which 
she watched. No other line of conduct could pos- 
sibly have preserved them from ruin ; and the adop- 
tion of such a measure was such, that few, very few, 
even of the bravest men would have considered it 
proper for them to pursue. 

To attack, even at the most unequal odds, an ene- 
my supposed to have a great and particular object in 
view, is an act of gallantry most highly praise-wor- 
thy ; and had his lordship, with his squadron of ten 
sail of the line only, fallen in with the combined force 
of France and Spain, amounting, as it did, to eigh- 
teen, either in the Mediterranean sea, the Straits of 
Gibraltar, or any where in the vicinity to the west- 
ward of them ; had he engaged them, and without 
capturing a single ship, crippled so great a part as to 
have arrested their further progress, the act might 
have vied with any that occurs in the naval history of 
Britain ; but on the present occasion, and on his pre- 
sent conduct, the mind feels itself compelled merely 
to contemplate the tribute of applause it wishes to 
pay, owing to the want of terms sufficiently expres- 
sive of its truly grateful feelings. 

No man, perhaps, who ever bore the character of 
an officer, ever took on himself so heavy a responsi- 
bility ; had he been deceived in his information, had 
he been impeded in his voyage by any of those acci* 



LORD NELSON. 275 

dents to which navigation is subject; had he ex^^cri- 
enced any of those disasters, which no prudence 
could foresee, nor any attention could prevent ; what 
would have been the outcry, the clamour that would 
have been raised against him ? He would have been 
stigmatized in the most opprobrious terms, for his fol- 
ly, his frenzy, and his disobedience, in not continu- 
ing in a station where he was placed by the orders of 
those whom it was his duty implicitly to obey ; all 
his former laurels would have been blasted by the en- 
venomed tongue of malice, and he himself would have 
passed through the shattered remains of a painful life, 
with a constitution worn out in the service of his 
country, neglected and forgotten, even by those who 
owed him the highest tribute. This would have been 
the slightest punishment he would have felt. It is un- 
necessary to enlarge further on so hateful a subject. 

Let us view, with this prospect before his eyes, 
what his conduct was : conscious of his own integri- 
ty, he despised to entertain apprehensions of incur- 
ring censure in the event of the most calamitous cir- 
cumstance that could occur and thus did he, with 
all the fervent zeal of pursuit, nobly trample on the 
cold system of prudential caution. Ingratitude, how- 
ever, is a national, crime too frequently committed ; 
and the man who is firm enough to despise it, dis- 
plays a character endued with a peculiar and under 
scribable quality, superior to heroism itself. 

His lordship having determined on the measure, 
lost no time in carrying it into execution ; and his ac- 
tivity rendered it incalculably valuable. He remained 
in Tetuan Bay no longer than was merely sufficient 



276 ^lEMOIRS OF 

to enable his ships to recruit their water, and take on 
board such articles as were of the first necessity, that 
they might be enabled to pursue their voyage with- 
out endangering the lives, or the healths of their 
crev/s. He proceeded immediately to Lagos Bay, 
where, as if fortune especially favoured him, he 
found several transports and store-ships, which had 
been in company with Sir John Orde, when that offi- 
cer retired with his squadron from Cadiz, on the ap- 
proach of Villeneuve and his fleet. Here the most 
pressing wants of the different ships in respect to 
stores and provisions were still further relieved ; and 
his lordship having received additional confirmation 
of the reports already transmitted to him, in respect 
to the course steered by the combined squadrons, 
finally put to sea in pursuit of them on the 11th of 
May. 

His passage was by no means unpropitious, and on 
the 4th of June he came to an anchor in Carlisle Bay, 
off Barbadoes, without having experienced any sin- 
ister accident during his voyage. To a people dis- 
pirited and alarmed, as the inhabitants of that island 
were, on receiving information of the very formida- 
ble force belonging to the enemy which had arrived 
at Martinique on the 14th of the preceding month, 
the sight of the British squadron operated as a gift 
bestou'ed on them by heaven, for their deliverance 
from certain ruin ; for though the timid might ex- 
press their fears, that an attack made by ten ships 
of the line on a squadron consisting of eighteen, re- 
cently equipped, and fresh out of port, would be an 
act exposing them, not only to immiaent peril, but 



LORD NELSON. 277 

to absolute destruction ; yet those who had weighed 
well the character of his lordship, together with that 
of the officers and men serving under his orders, -and 
knew how to appreciate their value fairly, felt no 
such terrqrs. Although the fleet of France had 
reached Martinique nearly three weeks before the ar- 
rival of his lordship, it had never yet attempted any 
further act of hostility, than the attack of the Dia- 
mond Rock : it was known, however, that the Span- 
ish division under Admiral Gravina, had separated 
from Villeneuve, and was supposed to have proceed- 
ed on a secret expedition ; report had selected the 
island of Trinidad as the devoted place of attack. 
His lordship, whose fleet, after his arrival at Barba- 
dbes, had been reinforced by a junction with Rear- 
Admiral Cochrane and two ships of the line, lost not 
a moment in making the best arrangements in his 
power for dispossessing the invading enemy. Twen- 
ty-four hours only were consumed in watering the 
fleet, and in taking on board a body of land troops 
under the orders of Sir William Myers, amounting 
to two thousand men. On the 5th of June his lord- 
ship quitted Barbadoes, and shaped his course to the 
southward ; on the 7th he arrived ofl" Trinidad, where 
he found a repetition of his former disappointments 
still pursuing him, and that the report of the attack 
was equally unfounded with those which had so per- 
plexed, and harrassed him previous to his quitting 
the Mediterranean. 

The terror of the inhabitants was violent in the ex- 
treme ; they considered their visitors as the enemies 
whom they had so much dreaded ; and so strong was 



278 MEMOIRS OF 

the delusion in which they were held, that every ex* 
ertion made by his lordship to convince them, by 
signals, of his identity, was unable to effect that pur- 
pose, and prevent the troops, posted in an advanced 
fort from blowing up the works and retreating to the 
capital. As it was now evident tliat nothing had been 
attempted to the southward, his lordship quitted 
Trinidad on the 8th, and having arrived off Grenada 
on the following day, received information that the 
combined squadrons, consisting of seventeen sail of 
the line had quitted Martinique that very morning, 
and pursued a northerly course. It immediately oc- 
curred to his lordship, that the fury of this formidable 
fieet was destined to fail upon Antigua, for he was as 
vet unacquainted with the French admiral's being 
aware of his arrival ; nor, had he been informed of 
that circumstance, would his modesty perhaps have 
allowed him to suppose, that the fleet of an enemy, 
purposely fitted out for a particular expedition, and 
nearly doubling his own force, could be induced from 
the knowledge of what his active mind had effected, 
and the apprehension of what it might in future con- 
trive, to quit its object, and absolutely seek its safety 
by flight, and return to Europe. 

On his reaching Antigua, he found his expecta- 
tions of encountering the enemy there, still disap- 
pointed ; but though his patience was tried, his hopes 
were not extinguished : it was now reduced to a cer- 
tainty, that fearing to contest the dominion of those 
seas, they were absolutely on their return homeward : 
his lordship, with the utmost expedition, landed those 
troops he had taken on beard for the purpose of sup^ 



LORD fsTELSON. S'S 

porting any islands which might have been attacked, 
and prepared, with all his accustomed alacrity, to 
pursue them, consoling himself with the pleasing 
idea of being even yet enabled to overtake them, 
when on their passage. 

In the midst, however, of the hurry and confusion 
which might have been naturally expected to prevail, 
while such rapid movements were adopting, the cool- 
ness and circumspection of his lordship never failed 
him for an instant. On the 13th of June he dispatch- 
ed Captain Bettesworth, in the Curieux sloop of war 
to England, with information of the movements 
made by the enemy, together with his own opera- 
tions, and the measures adopted to overtake them. 
That no means whatever might be left untried to 
apprize the squadrons employed in watching the dif- 
ferent ports of France and Spain, that the enemy ap- 
proached, his lordship dispatched Captain Rutherford 
in the Decade frigate, on the 15th, to Lisbon with 
instructions to order any light vessels he might find 
there, to sail immediately for the purpose of effectu- 
ally spreading the alarm, and to proceed afterwards 
in the same line of service herself; the Martin sloop 
was almost on the same moment with the Decade, 
sent off, on a similar errand, to Gibraltar. 

The expectation of Britain had, perhaps, never 
been raised to a higher pitch ; but the genius of dis- 
appointment appeared to have not even yet sated her 
malice, in counteracting the operations of the pur- 
suers. His lordship reached Gibraltar on the 19th of 
July, after having traversed the space of ocean stretch- 
ed between Europe and America within a period al- 



280 MEMOIRS OF 

most incredibly short ; for it will be found, that from 
the day he quitted Tetuan Bay, to proceed through 
the Straits, to that of his return to Gibraltar, after 
having made a regular tour of the Leeward West- In- 
dia Islands, including all the time unavoidably con- 
sumed in taking on board stores and provisions, em- 
barking and re-embarking troops, together with that 
necessarily wasted in the pursuit of false intelligence, 
or in waiting for such as might be deemed authentic, 
includes a period of seventy- eight days only. This 
display of activity was certainly unparalleled. The 
necessities of the fleet imperiously requiring a recruit 
both of water and provisions, his lordship once more 
repaired to his original place of departure, Tetuan 
Bay, where he anchored on the 22d. Having used 
every possible expedition to supply those wants which 
pressed on iiim most grievously, he again put to sea 
on the 2Gth, and repassed the Straits, in the hope of 
meeting the long expected fugitives off Cape St. Vin- 
cent ; or, failing in that, by pursuing a northerly 
course, falling in with them in some higher latitude.* 
Here again were the expectations of this indefatiga- 
ble man still frustrated ; he approached the port of 
Cadiz on the 27th, near enough to ascertain they had 

* The force under his lordship at this time amounted to eleven 
ships of the line, and two frigates : the Victory, of 100 guns ; tlie 
Canopus, Donnegal, and Tigre, of 80 ; the Superbe, Spencer, 
Spartiate, Belleisle, Conqueror, Leviathan, and Swiftsure, of 74 j 
Amazon and Amphion frigates : all the ships of the line had been 
round, with him to the West-Indies, the Spartiate excepted, which 
latter he had brought from thence as a small reinforcement to his 
original strength. 



LORD NELSON. 281 

not as yet sought refuge there. He immediately steer- 
ed for Cape St. Vincent ; he traversed the Bay of Bis- 
cay ; but the enemy still remained invisible to him. 
As the last source of disappointed hope, he pursued his 
course to the North- West of Ireland ; still they ap- 
peared not ; and his lordship considering it useless to 
attempt following them farther, while such an uncer- 
tainty prevailed as to the destination or present station 
of the enemy, adopted, to the last moment, every 
measure that prudence could suggest to him, as 
likely to become serviceable to his country. He de- 
tached nine ships of his squadron to rehiforce Admi- 
ral Cornwallis, who commanded off Brest, under the 
idea of its being possible that the enemy, shaping 
their course to the northward, and keeping close along 
shore, might approach Brest, and, aided by a diver- 
sion made on the part of the French fleet, which had 
so long been blockaded in that port, attempt, by pla- • 
cing Admiral Cornwallis between two fires, to facili- 
tate either the escape of the latter, or, at least their 
own junction with it, as a reinforcement. 

His lordship himself, in the Victory, accompani- 
ed by the Superbe, of seventy-four guns, came into 
Portsmouth, where he arrived on the 18th of Au- 
gust ; and notwithstanding the great length of his 
voyage, the sudden change of climates, so destruc- 
tive to the health of mankind, which his people had 
experienced, and the additional circumstance of his 
fleet having visited the identical spots in the universe 
from whence the importation of a malignant distem- 
per was most to be expected ; such was the healthy 
condition of the crews of both ships, that they were 

37 



282 IVIEMOIRS Olf 

immediately released, without a demur, on the re- 
ceipt of his lordship's report respecting the existence 
of this fact. 

Among the various requisites necessary to form a 
perfect naval officer, particularly one invested with a 
chief command, no one perhaps can be found more 
valuable than tliat which has been just mentioned. 
History furnishes a variety of instances, in which the 
most formidable enterprises have been overthrown, 
merely by a neglect of this so necessary duty ; but 
it was not in the day of battle only, that the talents 
and abilities of his lordship were particularly distin- 
guishable : they shone forth unclouded and undimin- 
ished in every action of his life ; but the world was 
acquainted only with the more splendid class of his 
deeds, and the generality of mankind knew not half 
his worth, or half his value. Nothing in short esca- 
ped him ; even those minuticc of the service, which 
some persons who have lived to acquire elevated cha- 
racters, have affected, very strangely, to treat below 
their attention, were regarded by him with as active 
and penetrating a miiid and eye, as those which are 
considered am^ong the most serious, and important 
duties. 

An anecdote is related of him, which places his 
character, in this respect, in so strong a point of view, 
as to render it unnecessary to apologize for the di- 
gression. When a private captain, his ship, which 
had been detached from the fleet on some particular 
service, rejoined the fleet, needing no inconsiderable 
refitment and recruit of stores, as well as provisions,, 
ere it could be again pronounced in a fit condition to 



LORD NELSON, 283 

put to sea. The commander in chief after having 
recived the report, is said to have taken his barge, 
and proceeding to the ship in question, hailed her, 
and enqiring for Captain Nelson, told him he should 
expect his ship to be ready by day-light the ensuing 
morning. In th© ordinary routine of service, many 
days, at least, would have been necessary for the 
purpose of re-equipment. Captain Nelson was struck 
with the magnitude of the task imposed on him, and 
answered, without giving himself time to recollect, 
^' that it was impossible." His superior officer, with 
rather unwarranted peevishness, replied, '' I dont 
care for that, I'll have it done." Captain Nelson 
put an end to the conversation, by answering with 
the greatest spirit, and still more laconically, " then 
it shall be done," and quitted the stern gallery with- 
out adding another word. 

To return, however, to the transactions of his 
Lordship's life. On the 20th of August he reached 
London, and had the satisfaction of experiencing that 
kind of reception from all ranks of people, which ve- 
ry rarely attends the want of success. Such is the 
frailty, the intemperance, or perhaps the natural de- 
pravity of human nature, that the disappointed man, 
instead of nieeting with that consolation and comfort 
which would tend to alleviate his misfortune, seldom 
fails to be treated at least with neglect, if not with in- 
sult. His lordship, however, stood as a singular ex- 
ception to this general rule; his recent exertions ap- 
peared to raise him in the minds .even of those who 
. were not benefited by them, to a higher pinnacle of 
fame and renown than he had before reached ; and 



284 MEMOIRS OF 

the general congratulation shewed that the public 
mind not only sympathized with him in his disap- 
pointment, but that the energies which he had dis- 
played in the hope of acquiring victory, entitled him 
to an equal share of fame with any he could have de- 
rived from the most perfect and unalloyed success. 

Almost instantaneously on his arrival, and while 
the situation, as well as the intention of the enemy, 
appeared uncertain, the command of an armament, 
intended to oppose them, in whatever quarter of the 
world they should appear, was offered to his lordship : 
a few days dispelled the mist which enveloped the 
conduct of the enemy, and decided the point of his 
future destination. After the encounter oil' Cape 
Finisterre, the worsted squadrons of the enemy took 
shelter in Ferrol, not only for the purpose of procur- 
ing the refitment they wanted, but also of forming a 
junction with a considerable reinforcement of ships 
which lay ready for sea in that port. On the 13th of 
August, the enemy having accomplished these neces* 
sary objects, were discovered by a British frigate sta- 
tioned to watch that port, in the act of putting to sea, 
and amounting, notwithstanding their discomfiture, 
and the number of their ships disabled in the late en- 
counter, to at least twenty-seven ships of the line, 
with eight attendant frigates, or smaller vessels. No 
doubt was now entertained as to the future scene of 
probable contest. The squadron already employed on 
the station was commanded by Vice- Admiral Colling- 
wood ; but its force was, comparatively speaking, so 
extremely trivial, that the utmost fears would most 
probably have been entertained for its safety, had not 



LORD NELSON. 285 

Britain rested satisfied that the diligence and general 
abilities of the commander were fully adequate to 
supply the place of numbers. Not only the govern- 
ment itself, but the people, as if with one accord, 
turned their eyes on Lord Nelson, as the person se- 
lected, as if by Providence itself, to annihilate, for 
the fourth time, the gigantic eftbrts of a desperate and 
enraged foe. The public suffrage elected him to the 
fatal honour, and his lordship, ^ enfeebled as he was 
by fatigue, had too much patriotism to decline com- 
plying with its wishes.* 

Reinforcements from various quarters were rapid- 
ly dispatched to join Admiral CoUingwood, and pre- 
vent, if possible, the entrance of the enemy into their 
much desired port ; they reached him not, however, 
in sufficient time to effect that purpose, and the strong- 
est exertions were unremittingly made in the ports of 
Britain to fit out different ships, in particular, to refit 
the Victory, which was again destined to bear, unhap- 
pily for the last time, the victorious flag of Lord Nel- 
son. Pending this preparation every tribute of ap- 
plause his grateful countrymen could render to his 
conduct, was liberally offered ; nor was that tribute 
confined to the wild effusions of the populace, but 

* It Is reported of him, we know not with what truth, but it is 
extremely probable that it is a fact, that he said to his friend, Ad- 
miral Stirling, just before he went upon the service which has ter- 
minated so honourably for himself, but so lamentably for his coun- 
try, " My health is so bad, that I ought to retire, but as my gen- 
erous countrymen seem to tliink I could do something if I were 
to meet the enemy, I feel it to be a duty to do what I can : I shall 
therefore go, and hope I shall be able to meet and conquer them, 
and I shall think my life gloriously sacrificed in such a cause." 



286 MEMOIRS OF 

persons of the highest rank bore their part also in 
augmenting, if possible, the value, as they certainly 
did the extent of the honour. 

On the 28th of Auj^ust, a deputation from the 
West-India merchants, planters, and other persons 
connected with those islands, which his lordship had 
so lately preserved from the fangs of a rapacious ene- 
my, waited on him with an address of thanks, for the 
perseverance and vigour which he had displayed in 
the protection of those valuable possessions. The 
answer returned by his lordship was dignified and 
appropriate ; perfectly consonant to the greatness of 
bis character, and the patriotism of his mind. After 
thanking them, in the most polite and modest terms, 
for the honour they had done him ; he added, " that 
disappointed as, he w'as by the late escape w'hich the 
enemy had eifected from him, he w-as perfectly ready 
to take upon him any duty his sovereigii might think 
proper to command, or the interests of his country 
appear to require." He concluded by saying, ''I 
beg leave to express to you, and the committee of 
West-India mercliants, the great satisfaction I feel in 
their approbation of my conduct. It w^as, I conceiv- 
ed, perfecdy clear, tliat the combined squadrons were 
gone to the West- Indies, and therefore it became my 
duty to follow them. But I assure you, from the 
state of defence in which our large islands are placed, 
with tlie number of regular trccps, a numerous, well- 
disciplined, and zealous militia, I was confident not 
any troops which their combined squadrons could 
carry, would make an impression upon any of our 
large islands before a very superior force could ar- 
rive for their relief." 



LORD NELSON. . 287 

Early in the month of September, positive infor- 
mation having been received in England, that the 
combined fleet, Vvith the reinforcement it had ob- 
tained, had effected their entrance into Cadiz on the 
21st of August, the exertions of Britain were, if 
possible, redoubled, to augment the force already- 
stationed off that port ; the inferiority of which was 
such, that it might be said to have been employed 
rather in watching the motions of the enemy, than in 
preventing their putting to sea. Early in the month 
of September the Victory w^as completely refitted, 
and on the 13th dropped down to St. Helens, that she 
might be ready to sail the instant his lordship might 
arrive. The conferences with the admiralty board, 
as to the future plan of 'operations, and other neces- 
sary arrangements, occupied the whole of his lord- 
ship's time previous to his quitting London : on the 
14th he reached Portsmouth, and although five ships 
of the line and a frigate, then in that port, were under 
orders to join him, yet as they were not completely 
ready, he resolved not to lose a moment's time in 
waiting for them, but put to sea on the following day, 
accompanied by the Euryalus frigate only. When 
off Plymouth, on the 17th, he was joined by the Ajas 
and the Thunderer of 74 guns each, and from thence 
finally proceeded with all expedition towards the 
dreadful scene of his future glory. 

As the nature of the service, on which his lord- 
ship was employed was, perhaps, more important, 
considering all its circumstances, than any that had 
ever before occurred in the naval histcay of Britain : 
so were the powers, and the extent of command en- 



28S MEMOIRS OF 

trusted to him, greater perhaps, than had ever before 
been confided to any naval commander whatever. 
Of the prudence and the activity which pervaded his 
lordship's conduct, the proofs had been innumerable ; 
and the knowledge of his possessing those valuable 
qualifications, procured the most unlimited confi- 
dence to be reposed in him. He was fully empow- 
ered to use his own discretion on all occasions, and 
follow the enemy even to the most distant quarter of 
the world, without being, on that account, subject to 
the slightest blame, or reprehension. 

On his arrival off Cadiz, he found his antagonists, 
though still in port, most actively employed in the 
refitment of their ships ; which bore every appear- 
ance, as far as could be collected from observation, 
or intelligence, of being very nearly ready for sea ; 
the idea of a blockade he totally disapproved of ; he 
was confident, that it was the intention of tlie enemy 
to push for the Mediterranean, for the purpose of 
collecting together in one body all the naval force pos- 
sessed by France and Spain in that quarter, and form- 
ing an immense armament, in the hope of overpow- 
ering any opposition that could be made to it by Bri- 
tain. This project, however it might ultimately fail, 
would, if carried into effect, have proved extremely 
injurious to the interests of Britain; and the system 
of blockade would, on account of the extensive force 
necessary to be employed, have proved little less 
ruinous, if required to be extended to any great 
length of time. His lordship, therefore, again had 
recourse to stratagem, in the hope of dra^ving the 
enemy once more from their lurking place of securi- 



LORD NELSON. 239 

ty* A frigate was constantly stationed ofF the har- 
bour of Cadiz, for the purpose of communicating, 
at a moment's warning, any motion she might per- 
ceive among the ships of the enemy ; at a more re- 
mote distance, but still within sight of the port, a de- 
tachment of several ships of the line was placed in 
constant readiness to act, against any single ships, or 
small squadrons, that might attempt to push to sea, 
in the hope of eluding the vigilance and observation 
of their naval besiegers. Between the detachment 
just mentioned, and the main body of the fleet, with 
which his lordship remained off Cape St. Mary's, a 
line of frigates was posted, sufficiently close to each 
other, so that they could communicate by signal ; and 
by these means, his lordship became acquainted with 
any movement, or change of position made by the 
enemy, in a few minutes after it had taken place. 

On the other hand, the British fleet, as well in re- 
gard to its numbers, as its movements, was com- 
pletely concealed from the view of their antagonists. 
Lord Nelson, about the middle of October, received 
advice, that by the unremitting assiduity of the 
admiralty board, a squadron, consisting of seven 
ships of the line, was on its way from England, as 
an additional reinforcement ; and would, to a certain- 
ty, join him in one or two days. Under these cir- 
cumstances, he hesitated not to detach Rear-admiral 
Louis with a fourth part of the force then actually 
under his command, and executed the measure so 
publicly and opeilly, that his allied foes became per- 
fectly well acquainted with it ; hoping, that the de- 
falcation of his strength might inspire the enemy 

38 



290 MEMOIRS 0? 

ivith confidence in their own superiority. The even- 
completely answ^ered his expectation : Villeneuve 
put to sea from Cadiz on the 19th ; a circumstance 
that gave birth to the greatest event that ever yet 
graced the annals of Britain. 

The most laboured narrative would but degrade 
its importance ; it rests, like the diamond, solely on 
its native brilliancy, and needs not the mechanical aid 
of literary labour to enhance, or embellish it. Let 
then that narrative speak for itself, 

" Euryalus, off Cape Trafalgar, 
«' Sir, October, 22, 1805. 

*' The ever to be lamented death of Vice- Admiral 
Lord Viscount Nelson, who, in the late conflict with 
the enemy, fell in the hour of victory, leaves to me 
the duty of informing my Lords Commissioners of 
the Admiralty, that on the 19th instant it was com- 
municated to the commander in chief from the ships 
watching the motions of the enemy in Cadiz, that the 
combined fleets had put to sea ; as they sailed with 
light winds westerly, his lordship concluded their des- 
tination was the Mediterranean, and immediately 
made all sail for the Straits' entrance, with the Bri- 
tish squadron, consisting of twenty- seven ships, three 
of them sixty-fours ; where his lordship was inform- 
ed by Captain Blackwood, (whose vigilance, in watch- 
ing and giving notice of the enemy's movements, has 
been highly meritorious,) that they had not yet pas- 
sed the Straits, 

*' On Monday the 21st instant, at day-light, when 
Cape Trafalgar bore E. by S. about seven leagues, 
the enemy was discovered six or seven miles to the 



LORD NELSQN". 291 

eastward, the wind about west, and very light. The 
Commander in Chief immediately made the signal 
for the fleet to bear up in two columns, as they form- 
ed in the order of sailing ; a mode of attack his 
lordship had previously directed,* to avoid the incon- 

* The same grand energy of mind, so strongly discernible in ev- 
ery act of his lordship's life, never shone forth v/Ith greater brill- 
iancy than in the arrangements he made, and the orders he issued, 
preparatory to the great impending contest. The tenor of those 
orders, jncontrovertibly streiTgthens the opinion we have already 
promulged, that his lordship was the first man whose abilities 
soaring far above the common trammels of prejudice, rendered 
tlie system of naval encounter an absolute science. This, we be- 
lieve, was never before attempted by any of the greatest naval cha- 
racters that have preceded him. It remained for Lord Nelson 
to form an indissoluble union between gallantry and ability j an 
janion, which Britain may hail as the source of future victories j 
and to which she may resort, on all subsequent occasions, to pre- 
serve her from the assaults of any congregated foe that may at- 
tempt to oppress her. 

MEMORANDUM. 

"Victory, off Cadiz, Oct. 10, 1805. 

« Thinking It almost impossible to bring a fleet of forty sail of 
the line into battle. In variable winds, thick weather, and other cir- 
cumstances which must occur, without such a loss of time, that 
the opportunity would probably be lost, of bringing the enemy ta 
battle, in such a manner as to make the business decisive, I have 
therefore made up my mind to keep the fleet In that position of 
sailing, with the exception of the first and second In command, 
that, the order of sailing is to be the order of the battle ; placing 
the fleet in two lines, of sixteen ships each, with an advanced 
squadron of eight of the fastest sailing two- decked ships, which 
•will always make, if wanted, a line of twenty -four sail, on which 
ever line the commander in chief may direct. The second in com- 
mand will, after my intentions are made known to him, have tlie 
entire direction of his line, to make tlie attack upon the enemy. 



292 MEMOIRS OF 

venience and delay in forming a line of battle in the 
usual manner. The enemy's line consisted of thir- 

and to follow up the blow, until they are captured or destroyed. 
If the enemy's fleet are seen to windward in line of battle, and 
that the two lines and advanced squadron could fetch them, they 
will probably be so extended, that their van could not succor their 
rear, I should tlierefore, probably, make the second in command's 
signal to lead tlirough about the twelfth ship from their rear, or 
wherever he could fetch, if not able to get so far advanced ; my 
line would lead thro' about their centre, and the advanced squad- 
ron two, three, or four ships a-head of their centre, so as to insure 
getting at their commander in chief, whom every effort must be 
made to capture. The whole impression of the British fleet must 
be to overpower from two or three ships a-head of tlieir command- 
er in chief, supposed to be their centre, to the rear of their fleet. 
I will suppose twenty sail of the line to be untouched ; it must be 
some time before they could perform a manoeuvre to bring their 
force compact to attack any part of the British fleet, or succour 
their own ships, which indeed would be impossible, without mix- 
ing with the ships engaged. The enemy's fleet is supposed to 
consist of forty-six sail of the line, British forty ; if either is less, 
only a proportion of the enemy to be cut off j British to be one 
fourth superior to the enemy cut off; something must be left to 
chance. Nothing is sure in a sea fight beyond all others ; shots will 
carry away masts and yards of friends as well as foes, but I look 
with confidence to a victory before the van of the enemy could suc- 
cour tlieir rear ; and then, that the British fleet would be ready to 
receive the twenty sail of the line, or to pursue them, should they 
endeavour to make off. If the van of the enemy tacks, the captur- 
ed ships must run to leeyrard of the British fleet. If the enemy 
wear, the British fleet must place themselves between the enemy 
and the captured, and disabled British ships ; and should the ene- 
my close, I have no fear as to the result. The second in comimand 
will, in all possible things, direct the movements of his line, by 
keeping them as compact astlie nature of the circumstances will 
admit. Captains are to look to their particular line as their rally- 



LORD NELSON. 293 

ty-three ships (of which eighteen were Frerxh and 
lifteen Spanish) commanded in chief bj'- Admiral 
Villeneuve. The Spaniards, under the direction of 
Gravina, wore with their heads to the northward, and 
formed their line of battle with great closeness and 
correctness ; but as the mode of attack was unusual, 
so the structure of their line was new ; it formed a 
crescent, convexing to leeWard ; so that in leading 

ing point ; but in case signals cannot be seen, or clearly under- 
stood, NO CAPTAIN CAN DO WRONG IF HE PLACES HIS SHIP 
ALONGSIDE THAT OF AN ENEMY. 

T> -.•1- r Advanced squadron - 8 

I'ntisn 1 Tir 1 1- , A 

,^. . . -{ Weather line - - 16 

Divisions I Le^j.^^ ... 16 

Enemy - - - 46 

** The divisions of the British fleet will be brought nearly within 
gun-shot of the enemy's centre ; the signal will most probably 
then be made for the lee line to bear up together, to set all their 
sails, even their steering sails, in order to get as quickly as possi. 
ble to the enemy's line, and to cut through, beginning at the 
twelfth ship from the enemy's rear. Some ships may not get 
through their expected place, but tliey will always be at hand to 
assist their friends. If any are tlirown in the rear of the enemy, 
they will complete the business of twelve sail of the enemy. — 
Should the enemy wear together, or bear up and sail large, still 
the twelve ships, composing in the first position the enemy's lear, 
are to be the object of attack of the lee line, unless otherwise di- 
rected by the commander in chief, which is scarcely to be ex- 
pected, as the entire management of the lee line, after the inten- 
tions of the commander in chief are signified, is intended to be 
left to the admiral commanding that line. The remainder of the 
enemy's fleet, thirty-five sail of the line, are to be left to the man- 
agement of the commander in chief, who will endeavour to take 
care, that the movements of the second in command are as little 
interrupted as possible. 

Nelson" and Bronte." 



294 MEMOIRS OF 

down to their centre, I had both the van and rea? 
abaft the beam. Before the fire opened, every alter- 
nate ship was about a cable's length to windward of 
her second a-head and a-stern, forming a kind of 
double line, and appeared when on their beam, to 
leave a very little interval between them ; and this 
ivithout crouding their ships. Admiral Viileneuve 
was in the Bucentaure, in the centre, and the Prince 
of Asturias, bore Gravina's flag in the rear ; but the 
French and Spanish ships were mixed without any 
apparent regard to order of national squadron, A5 
the mode of our attack had been previously deter- 
mined on, and communicated to the flag-ofiicers and 
captains, few signals were necessary, and none were 
made except to direct close order as the lines bore 
down. The commander in chief in the Victory led 
the weather column, and the Royal Sovereign, which 
bore my flag, the lee, 

" The action began at twelve o'clock, by the lead- 
ing ships of the columns breaking through the ene- 
my's line, the commander in chief about the tenth 
ship from the van, the second in command about the 
twelfth from the rear, leaving the van of the enemy 
unoccupied ; the succeeding ships breaking through 
in all parts a-stern of their leaders, and engaging the 
enemy at the muzzles of their guns. The conflict was 
severe ; the enemy's ships were fought with a gallan- 
try highly honourable to their officers : but the attack 
on them was irresistible ; and it pleased the almighty 
disposer of all events to grant his majesty's arms a 
complete and glorious victory. About three P. M. 
"many of the enem.y's ships having struck their colours, 



LORD NELSON. 295 

Ihe^r line gave way. Admiral Gravlna, with ten ships, 
joining their frigates to leeward, stood towards Ca- 
diz. The five headmost ships in their van tacked, 
and standing to the southward, to windward of the 
British line, were engaged, and the sternmost of them 
taken ♦, the others went oiF, leaving to his majesty's 
squadron nineteen ships of the line, (of which two 
are first rates, the Santissima Trinidada, and the San- 
ta Anna) with three flag officers; viz. Admiral Ville- 
neuve, the commander in chief ; Don Ignatio Maria 
d'Aliva, vice-admiral ; and the Spanish rear-admi- 
ral, Don Baltazar Hidalgo Cisneros. 

*' After such a victory, it may appear unnecessary 
to enter into encomiums on the particular parts taken 
by the several commanders; the conclusion says 
more on the subject than I have language to express ; 
the spirit which animated all was the same ; when 
all exert themselves zealously in their country's ser- 
vice, all deserve that their high merits should stand 
recorded ; and never was high merit more conspicu- 
ous than in the battle I have described. 

" The Achille, a French seventy-four, by some 
mismanagement of the Frenchmen, after her surren- 
der, took fire, and blew up : two hundred of her 
men were saved by the tenders. 

" A circumstance occurred during the action, 
which so strongly marks the invincible spirit of Bri- 
tish seamen, when engaging the enemies of their 
country, that I cannot resist the pleasure I have in 
making it known to their lordships. The Temeraire 
was boarded by accident, or design, by a French 
sliip on one side, and a Spaniard on the other ; the 



296 MEMOIRS OF 

contest was vigorous ; but in the end, the combined 
ensigns were torn from the poop, and the British 
hoisted in their places. 

" Such a battle could not be fought without sus- 
taining a great loss of men. I have not only to la- 
ment in common with the British navy and British 
nation, in the fall of the commander in chief, the loss 
of a hero whose name will be immortal, and his mem- 
ory ever dear to his country : but my heart is rent 
with the most poignant grief for the death of a friend, 
to whom, by many years' intimacy, and a perfect 
knowledge of the virtues of his mind, which inspired 
ideas superior to the common race of men, 1 was 
bound by the strongest ties of affection ; a grief to 
which even the glorious occasion in which he fell, 
does not bring the consolation which perhaps it 
ought : his lordship received a musket ball in his left 
breast, about the middle of the action, and sent an 
officer to me immediately with his last farew^el ; and 
soon afterwards expired."* 

* Extract from the Log-Book of his Majesty's Ship Victory, 

« Tuesday, October 22, 1805. 
** Light airs and cloud}', standing towards the enemy's van witli 
all sail set. At four minutes past twelve opened our fire on the 
enemy's van, in passing down their line. At twenty minutes past 
twelve, in attempting to pass through the enemy's line, fell on 
board the tenth and eleventh ships, when the action became gene- 
ral. About fifteen minutes after one, the Right Hon. Lord Vis- 
count Nelson, and commander in chief, was wounded in the shoul- 
der. At Ih. 30m. the Redoubtable having struck her colours,- we 
ceased firing our starboard guns, but continued engaging the San- 
tissima Trinidada, and some of the enemy's ships on the larboard 
side. Observed the Teraeraire between the Redoubtable and an- 



tORD NELSON. 297 

I have also to lament the loss of those excellent of- 
ficers, captains Duff of the Mars, and Cooke of the 
Bellerophon ; I have yet heard of none others. 

I fear the numbers that have fallen will be found 
very great when the returns come to me ; but it hav- 
ing blown a gale of wind ever since the action, I have 

other French ship of the line, both of which had struck. Observ- 
ed the Royal Sovereign, with the loss of her main and mizen 
masts, and several of the enemy's ships round her dismasted. At 
3h. 10m. observed four sail of the enemy's van tack, and stand 
along our line to windward ; fired our larboard guns at those 
within reach. At 3h. 40m. made the signal for our ships to keep 
their wind, and engage the enemy's van coming along our weather 
line. Ac 4<h. 15m. the Spanish Rear-Admiral to windward 
struck to some of our ships which had tacked after them. Ob- 
served one of the enemy's ships blow up, and fourteen sail of the 
enemy's ships standing towards Cadiz ; three sail of the enemy's 
ships standing to the southward ; partial firing continued till ^h. 
40m. when a victory having been reported to the Right Hon. 
Lord Nelson, K.B.commanderln chief,hethen died of his wounds. 
At five the mi z en-mast fell about ten feet above the poop j the 
Irvv/er mast, yards, and bowsprit all crippled ; rigging and sails 
very much cut. The ships around us very much crippled. Sev- 
eral of our ships pursuing the enemy to leev/ard, and our Vice- 
Admiral Collingwood's flag flying on board his Majesty's ship 
Euryalus, and some of our ships taking possession of the prizes. 
Struck top-gallant-masts, got up runners and tackles to secure the 
lower masts ; employed clearing the wreck of the yards and rig- 
ging ; wore ship, and sounded in thirty-two fathom, sandy bottom. 
Stood to the southward under the remnant of the fore-sail and 
main-top-sail ; sounded from nineteen to thirteen fathom ; at 
midnight moderate breezes, and cloudy. At 2h. 30m. wore 
ship ; at daylight saw our fleet and prizes, forty sail, in sight ; 
still closing with our fleet ; at six Cape Trafalgar bore S. E. by 
E. distant four or five leagues ; at 6h, 30m. saw three of the 
enemy's ships standing towards Cadiz. 

39 



298 MEMOIRS OF 

not yet had it in my power to collect any reports 
from the ships. 

The Royal Soveriegn having lost her masts, ex- 
cept the tottering foremast, I called the Eiiryalus to 
me, while the action continued, which ship lying in 
hail, made my signals, a service captain Blackwood* 

* This gallant officer Is die descendant of an Irish family, be* 
ing a younger son of the late Sir John Blackwood, Bart, whose 
widow was, on the SOth of July, 1800, created a peeress of that 
kingdom, by the title of Baroness Dnfferin nnd Cl.ineboy, of Bal- 
lyleidy and Killileah, in the county of Down, with remainder of 
the barony to her heirs male. Oh his first entrance into the naval 
service, he had the happiness of profiting by the professional know- 
ledge of admiral Macbride, and, during the war with America, 
experienced frequent opportunities of reducing to practice what 
he had before studied theoretically, having been engaged in seve- 
ral brillant actions. After having served under various command- 
ers, he was appointed signal midshipman on board the Royal 
Charlotte, the flag-ship of Lord Hov/e, at the time of the Spanish 
armament, and was by him promoted to the rank of lieutenant. 
In the action of the 2d of June, 1794', he was first lieutenant of the 
Invincible of 74 guns, and on the return of thefleet to Portsmouth, 
was made master and commander, and appointed to the Maegera 
fire-ship, from which he was afterwards advanced to be acting 
captain of the Brilliant, of 08 guns. In this ship he distinguished 
himself by his gallant conduct in an encounter with two French 
frigates of superior force, each of them mounting 44 guns, which 
he engaged w-ith so much success as to compel his enemies to de- 
sist from tlieir attack. As a reward for his conduct on the pre- 
ceding occasion, he was raised to the rank of post captain in the 
year 1795, and commissioned to the Penelope, a frigate on service 
in the Mediterranean, in which he continued for some time. Be- 
ing stationed by Lord Nelson off Malta, his zeal and assiduity 
were displayed in the highest degree. By his exertion and gal- 
lant perseverance, le Guilliaume Tell, which had escaped from the 
battle of Aboukir, and taken shelter in Malta, from which port 



% 



LORD NELSON, 299 

jierformed with great attention. After the action I 
shifted my flag to her, that I might more easily com- 
municate my orders to, and collect the ships, and 
towed the Royal Sovereign out to seaward. The 
wlioie fleet were now in a very perilaus situation ; 
many dismasted ; all shattered ; in thirteen fathom 

she attempted to elude the watchful vigilance of the British com- 
inander^, was arrested in her course, aud notwithstanding her 
manifest superiority, was attacked by the Penelope so advantage- 
ously, that it may not be too much to say, he was at least the pri- 
mary instrument of her capture. He afterwards served with 
equal credit to himself and benefit to his country under Lord 
Keith, on the coast of Egypt. In the year 1799, he sailed with 
a conv oy to the West-indies, and in February 1800, took a Span- 
ish zebec, mounting 18 guns, off Malaga. In the year 1803 he 
was appointed to the command of the Euryalus, in which frigate 
he accompanied Lord Nelson from Portsmouth to the late scene 
of glory oiF Cape Trafalgar. In this action he had his full share 
of duty, so far as his station in a frigate permitted, and he acquit- 
ted himself with a gallantry that called forth the highest appro- 
bation of his deceased commander in chief, Lord Nelson, and his 
successor, Lord Collingwoxid. On the Royal Sovereign being 
dismasted, the latter hoisted his flag on board the Euryalus, which 
took her in tow, and assisted her to heave her head round, by 
which means she gave the Santa Anna, her opponent^ a broadside, 
that drove her side almost in. During the heat of the action 
Captain Blackwood rowed down in his own boat between the two 
contending fleets in order to learn the situation of Lord Nelson, 
and is said to have got on board the Victory through one pf the 
ports, at the time she was engaged withtlie SantissimaTrinidada : 
nor were his services discontinued with tlie engagement, he being 
appointed to carry on tlie communication which took place be- 
tween the British Admiral, and the Governor of Cadiz, relative 
to the distribution of the prisoners and wounded men. In that 
employment he fully justified the trust confided to him, and gain- 
ed not only the approbation of his country, but the esteem of the 
enemy. 



# 



800 



MEMOIRS OF 



water, off the shoals of Trafalgar ; and when I made 
the signal to prepare to anchor, few of the ships had 
an anchor to let go, their cables being shot ; but the 
same good providence which aided us through such 
a day, preserved us in the night, by the w-ind shift- 
ing a few points, and drifting the ships off the land, 
except four of the captured dismasted ships, which 
are now at anchor off Trafalgar, and I hope will ride 
safe until those gales are over. 

*' Having thus detailed the proceedings of the fleet 
on this occasion, I beg to congratulate their lordships 
on a victory which, I hope, will add a ray to the glo- 
ry of his majesty's crown, and be attended with pub- 
lic benefit to our country. 

** I am, &c. 

*' C. COLLINGWOOD. 

<* William Marsden, Esq." 
'* The order in which the British squadron attacked 
the combined fleets on the 21st of October, 1805o 



VAN, 


REAR. 


Victory 


Royal Sovereign 


Temeraire 


Mars 


Neptune 


Belleisle 


Conqueror 


Tonnant 


Leviathan 


Bellerophon 


Ajax 


Colossus 


Orion 


Achille 


Agamemnon 


Polyphemus 


Minotaur 


Revenge 


Spartiate 


Swiftsure 


Britannia 


Defence 


Africa 


Thunderer 



LORD NELSON. 301 

iRiGATEs. Defiance 

Euryalus Prince . 

Sirius Dreadnought 

Phoebe 
Naiad 

Pickle Schooner 
Entreprenante Cutter 

(Signed) " C. Col ling wood.'* 

" GENERAL ORDER. 

" Euryalus, October 22, 1805, 
*' The ever to be lamented death of lord viscount 
Nelson, duke of Bronte, the commander in chief, 
who fell in the action of the 21st, in the arm's of vic- 
tory, covered with glory, whose memory will be 
ever dear to the British navy, and the British nation ; 
whose zeal for the honour of his king, and for the 
interests of his country, will be ever held up as a 
shining example for a British seaman— leaves to me 
a duty to return my thanks to the right honourable 
rear admiral, the captains, officers, seamen, and de- 
tachment of royal marines serving on board his ma- 
jesty's squadron now under my command, for their 
conduct on that day ; but where can I find language 
to express my sentiments of the valour and skill 
which were displayed by the officers, the seamen, 
and marines, in the battle with the enemy, where 
every individual appeared a hero, on whom the glo- 
ry of his country depended ! the attack was irresis- 
tible, and the issue of it adds to the page of naval 
annals a brilliant instance of what Britons can do, 
when their king and country need their assistance. 



302 MEMOIRS OF 

" To the right honourable rear-admiral the earl of 
Northesk, to the captains, officers, and seamen, and 
to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and pri- 
vates of the royal marines, I beg to give my sincere 
and hearty thanks for their highly meritorious con- 
duct, both in the action, and in their zeal and activi- 
ty in bringing the captured ships out from the pe- 
rilous situation in which they were, after their sur- 
render, among the shoals of Trafalgar, in boisterous 
weather. 

" And I desire that the respective captains will be 
pleased to communicate to the officers, seamen, and 
royal marines, this public testimony of my high ap- 
probation of their conduct, and my thanks for it. 

(Signed) " C. Collingwogd. 

" To the right hon. rear-admiral 
the earl of Northesk, and the 
respective captains and com- 
manders." 

** GENERAL ORDER. 

'' The Almighty God, whose arm is strength, hav- 
ing of his great mercy been pleased to crown the ex- 
ertions of his Majesty's fleet with success, in giving 
them a complete victory over their enemies on the 
21st of this month ; and that all praise and thanks- 
giving may be offered up to the Throne of Grace for 
the great benefits to our country and to mankind. 

" I have thought proper that a day should be ap- 
pointed of general humiliation before God, and thanks- 
giving for this his merciful goodness, imploring for- 
n-iveness of sins, a continuation of his divine mer- 
(cy, and his constant aid to us, in the defence of our 



LORD NELSON. SOS 

tountry's liberties and laws, without which the ut- 
most efforts of man are nought ; and direct therefore 
that be appointed for this purpose. 

" Given on board the Euryalus, off Cape Trafal- 
garj 22d October, 1805* 

(Signed) ** C. Collingwood. 

*' To the respective Captains 
and Commanders, 

'* N. B. The fleet having been dispersed in a gale 
of wind, no day has yet been able to be appointed 
for the above purpose." 

** Euryalus, off Cadiz, 
"Sir, , October 24, 1805. 

*' In my letter of the 22d, I detailed to you, for 
the information of the Lords Commissioners of the 
Admiralty, the proceedings of his Majesty's squad- 
ron on the day of the action, and that preceding it, 
since which I have had a continued series of misfor- 
tunes, but they are of a kind that human prudence 
could not possibly provide against, or my skill pre- 
vent. 

On the 22d, in the morning, a strong southerly 
wind blew, with squally weather, which however did 
not prevent the activity of the officers and seamen of 
such ships as were manageable from getting hold of 
many of the prizes (thirteen or fourteen) and towing 
them off to the westward, where I ordered them to 
rendezvous round the Royal Sovereign, in tow by 
the Neptune : but on the 23d the gale increased, and 
the sea ran so high, that many of them broke the 
tow rope, and drifted far to leeward before they were 
got hold of agahi; and some of them taking advan- 



304 MEMOIRS OF 

tage of the dark and boisterous niglit, got before the 
wind, and have perhaps drifted upon the shore and 
sunk : on the afternoon of that day the remnant of 
the combined fleet, ten sail of ships, who had not 
been much engaged, stood up to leeward of my 
shattered and straggled charge, as if meaning to at- 
tack them, which obliged me to collect a force out of 
the least injured ships, and form to leeward for their 
defence ; all this retarded the progress of the hulks, 
and the bad weather continuing, determined me to 
destroy all the leewardmost that could be cleared of 
the men, considering that keeping possession of the 
ships was a matter of little consequence compared 
with the chance of their falling again into the hands of 
the enemy : but even this was an arduous task in the 
high sea which was running. I hope, however, it has 
been accomplished to a considerable extent ; I en- 
trusted it to skilful officers, who would spare no 
pains to execute what was possible. The Captains 
of the Prince and Neptune cleared the Trinidad and 
sunk her. Captains Hope, Baynton, and Malcolm, 
who joined the fleet this moment from Gibraltar, had 
the charge of destroying four others. The Redoubt- 
able sunk a-stern of the Swiftsure, while in tow. 
The Santa Anna I have no doubt is sunk, as her side 
was almost entirely beat in ; and such is the shatter- 
ed condition of the whole of them, that unless the 
weather moderates, I doubt whether I shall be able 
to carry a ship of them into port,-^ I hope their 

* Notwithstanding the modesty and apprehensions of his lord- 
ship, the activity and perseverance of the British officers and sea- 
men enabled them to preserve one French and three Spanish 



LORD NELSON. 305 

lordships will approve of what I (having only in con- 
sideration the destruction of the enemy's fleet) have 
thought a measure of absolute necessity. 

*' I have taken Admiral Villeneuve into this ship ; 
Vice- Admiral Don Aliva is dead. Whenever the 
temper of the weather will permit, and I can spare a 
frigate, (for there were only four in the action with 
the fleet, Euryalus, Sirius, Phoebe, and Naiad ; 
the Melpomene joined the 22d, and the Eurydice 
and Scout the 23d,) I shall collect the other flag offi- 
cers, and send them to England with their flags, (if 
they do not all go to the bottom,) to be laid at his 
Majesty's feet. 

*' There were four thousand troops embarked, un- 
der the command of General Contamin, who was 
taken with Admiral Villeneuve in the Bucentaure. 
*' I am, Sir, &c. 
(Signed) '' C. Collingwood."*- 

shlps of seventy-four guns each ; the Rayo, a Spanish first-rate, 
one of the squadron, which came a second time out of Cadiz un- 
der Admiral Gravina, in hopes of rescuing some of the prizes 
from the possession of their captors, was on that occasion dismast- 
ed, and fell into the hands of the British, but was afterwards un- 
happily lost ; so that although the Santa Anna, and some other 
ships, contrived to effect their retreat into Cadiz, notwithstanding 
their actual surrender, yet the loss of the enemy in the battle it- 
self, and on the two following days, amounted to nineteen ships, 
none of them mounting less than 74 guns. To these may be 
added, as a consequence resulting from the same brilliant source, 
the squadron consisting of one of 80, and three of 74? guns each, 
taken with Rear-Admiral Dumanoir,by the squadron under Sir 
R. Strachan. 

* VICE-ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD 

Was the relative of Commodore Thomas Collin gwood, who, after 

40 



306 MEMOIRS OF 

Of an event so recent, so great, so unparalleled, a^ 
myriad of anecdotes and circumstances are related, 

having served with the most distinguished reputation on the 
West-India station, under the late Vice- Admiral Byron, and Sir 
George Brydges Rodney, afterwards Lord Rodney, was compel- 
led to return to England for the recovery of his health, but unhap- 
pily died at sea, when on his passage home, on the 2d of June, 
1780. The noble Lord, of whom we are speaking, appears to 
have been, from his earliest years, connected not only in service, 
but in the closest ties of intimacy, and affection, with the late 
Lord Viscount Nelson. Numerous, and indeed innumerable are 
the testimonies rendered by the deceased hero to the abilities, the 
goodness, the intrinsic worth of the survivor ; he constantly nam- 
ed him with the affection, not merely of a friend, but of a brother. 
The intimacy comm.enced in their earliest youth, and continued 
unabated, unalloyed, till the death of one friend left nothing to 
the survivor, but to mourn unceasingly the loss he had sustained, 
aggravated, if possible, by his private feelings, beyond that which 
the rest of his country were compelled to feel in sorrow, and in 
silence. After the requisite probation and service in the subor- 
dinate capacity of lieutenant, he was appointed to be commander 
of the Badger sloop of war ; and singular as it may be thought, 
when compared to the subsequent events of his life, was the suc- 
cessor of the late Lord Viscount Nelson in the command of that 
vessel. In the following year, 1780, he was advanced to the rank 
of post captain, but met with no opportunity of displaying that 
gallantry, good conduct, and zeal for the service of his country, 
which has ever been conspicuous in every action of his life, where 
the smallest opportunity appeared to present itself, of his display- 
ing either, or all of them. In the encounter of the first of June, 
1794', between the British fleet commanded by the late Earl 
Hov;e, and that of France, lie served as captain on board 
the Barfleur, which ship had the honour of bearing the flag 
of Rear-Admiral Bowyer. Though no ship in the fleet was 
more ably, or more bravely conducted, yet the noble command- 
er in chief, either through inattention, or for some reason 
•^yUich has never been publicly explained, omitted to include 



LORD NELSON. SO?" 

In which truth and fiction, simple fact, and exaggera- 
tion, ai'e so instimately interwoven with each other, 

.Captain Collingwood in the number of those officers to whom 
he returned his thanks, for their conduct on that occasion. — 
Although it may be considered by some persons, a nautical 
treason, to utter a breath of censure on the conduct of Earl 
Howe, we cannot withstand the honest impulse of our own 
feelings, which compel us to declare, that if such omission was 
the consequence of neglect, it was censurable in the highest de- 
gree } if of intention, unpardonable. Earl Howe is no more ; 
may his failings and his faults perish with him, and those virtues 
which may stiil remain in public recollection, survive to all eter- 
nity. It were needless to enter into any detail of the gallant 
and heroic conduct of Captain Collingwood in the encounter 
with the Spanish fleet off St. Vincent in the month of February, 
1797, at which time he commanded the Excellent. Lord Nel- 
son rendered the most noble, and at the same time the most 
honest tribute of praise, in the private memorandum afforded 
by him of the observations he made during that engagement ; 
see page 36, et seq. To add any further eulogium would be 
ridiculous and impertinent. On the fourteenth of February, 
1799, he was promoted to the rank of Rear- Admiral of the 
White, and not long afterwards hoisted his flag on board the Tri- 
umph, being appointed to command in the channel fleet, at that 
time under the orders of Lord Bridport. It may be remember- 
ed that during the latter part of the war, the fleets of France 
never met those of England, on the Adantic, consequently no 
opportunity was afforded, either to the fllag ofGcers, or captains 
employed in that quarter, of particularly distinguishing them- 
selves. He continued on board the Triumph till the month of 
June, 1800, when he removed into the Barfleur, a second rate, 
and retained his former line of command till the conclusion of the 
war ; during which period he was, on the first of January, 1801, 
advanced to be Rear- Admiral of the Red. After the commence- 
ment of hostilities with France, he v/as, on the twenty-third of 
April, 1804, advanced to be Vice- Admiral of the Blue. In 1805, 
he was invested with the command of the squadron stationed off 



308 MEMOIRS OF 

that it would require almost an age of investigation 
to separate one from the other. In point of fact, to 
adopt the emphatic words used by Mr. (now Lord) 
CoUingwood, on whom the command devolved, we 
know, " that it pleased the Almighty Disposer of all 
events, to grant his majesty's arms a complete and 
glorious victory." Let us now bestow a few mo- 
ments in observing its extent and its consequences. 
In respect to the former, it stands unequalled. The 
memorable victory off cape la Hogue, by which the 
aspiring gigantic power of Lewis the XlVth was 
nearly crushed into obscurity, sinks before the battle 
of Trafalgar, almost into a petty skirmish. The 
fleets of Britain and of Holland more than doubled 
that of their antagonists ; the number of the ships de- 
stroyed cannot be raised with any degree of truth, or 
authenticity, beyond seventeen sail, several of which 
were under sixty guns. Such is the real state of the 
loss sustained by France ; forhovv'ever it may be ex- 
tended in some of the manuscript journals,* which 
have been preserved to the present day, it appears 
from the strongest concurrent testimonies, those ac- 
counts cannot, in the smallest degree, be depended 
upon. In the battle of Trafalgar, the fleet of Bri- 
tain had to contend, not only with ships in the most 

Cadiz. His noble conduct in the encounter wrth the French and 
Spanish fleets oiF Trafalgar has already been recompensed by 
his advancement to a peerage by the title of Baron CoUingwood, 
and his promotion in tlie service to Vice-Admiral of the Red 
squadron. France and Spain must long lament the effects of 
his gallantry, and we trust as well as hope, that his countrymen 
will ever have sufficient gratlt.ude not to forget them. 
* See Biographia Navalls, Vol. I. page 361. 



LORD NELSON. 309 

perfect state of equipment, on the very instant of 
issuing from their own ports, but also against a su- 
periority of no less than six ships of the line ; yet 
against these mighty odds, the transcendant abilities 
of his lordship, and the bravery of those whom he 
commanded, acquired a victory, which would proba- 
bly have extended much farther than it really did, 
had not the elements themselves risen, as it were, ia 
opposition to the mighty conquerors. 

It is related, and certainly is a circumstance highly 
interesting, that the instant the French admiral ob- 
served the manner in which the Btitish fleet was 
formed, together with the manner of advancing, he 
hesitated not to express his apprehensions of the ap- 
proaching discomfiture : he foresaw that a stroke 
which he was unprepared for, was meditated against 
him ; and he knew himself unable to parry its effects. 
When Vice- Admiral Collingwood, at the head of the 
division under his orders, began the attack, and broke 
through the French line, Lord Nelson, turning round 
with the highest exultation and joy, said, " Look at 
that noble fellow ! observe the style in which he car- 
ries his ship into action!" Such an eulogium, and 
from such a man, surpasses in value the most labour- 
ed panegyric. 

In respect to the consequences of the victory, it 
may perhaps be dif&cult to appreciate them to their 
full, or proper value. Had the ruined armament ef- 
fected its passage into the Mediterranean in safety, 
it is impossible to calculate the extent of the ad- 
vantage that might have accrued to the enemy. 
The increased distance of its station would not only 



310 MEMOIRS OF 

materially have augmented the difficulties under 
which his lordship, or any other commander who had 
been employed in watching its motions, would have 
lain, but the accumulation of force it would have ac- 
quired, by the junction of such ships as had long been 
preparing and were ready for sea, at Carthagena, 
together with those belonging to France left behind 
at Toulon, would have required a considerable rein- 
forcement of ships, the necessity of which, even the 
gallantry and ability of his lordship could not have 
obviated. 

But, amidst all these cheering events, the death of 
his lordship intercepted the rays of conquest, and 
threw a cloud over the whole transaction, which pre- 
vented the eyes of his countrymen from contemplat- 
ing otherwise than with sorrow and regret, honours 
and triumphs which had been purchased at so inesti- 
mable a price. It has been a remark, too obvious 
indeed was it to be neglected, that his lordship fell, 
like the immortal Wolfe, in the arms of victory her- 
self. There was indeed the closest similarity, not 
only between their flites, but in their habits and their 
tempers. It would be improper to relate the several 
circumstances which are reported to have been con- 
nected with it, on account of the difficulty that must, 
as already observed, attend ascertaining the authen- 
ticity of them. Those which appear best entitled to 
public notice and attention, are given in the Gibral- 
tar Chronicle, of the 2d and 9th of November last, 
and reprinted in the Naval Chronicle, Vol. XIV, 
pages 455, 484. 



tORD NELSON. 311 

Extract from the Gibraltar Chronicle of November the 9th. 

" It appears, from every account that has been received from 
the Spanish officers, who have been taken prisoners, that Admi- 
ral Villeneuve certainly sailed from Cadiz with a determination 
of giving battle to the English fleet. There is, however, the 
Strongest reason to believe, that this measure was contrary both 
to the views and instructions of Bonaparte, whose intentions 
were, that the combined fleet should proceed from Cadiz to Tou- 
lon, forniing a junction with the Carthagena squadron in th^ir 
way, that he might, by these means, have the greatest part of the 
Spanish navy in a French port, and immediately in his power. 
In case any reverse of fortune might tempt the Spanish govern- 
ment to seize a favourable opportunity to throw off the galling 
yoke he had imposed upon it. But Villeneuve seems to have 
been impelled by motives of personal resentment and wounded 
honour, to act in opposition to the wishes of his master. He 
had been deeply stung by a severe remark in the Moniteur, up- 
on what the conduct of the French fleet would be if commanded 
by a man of abilities ; the Spaniards had also openly upbraided 
him with not supporting them in die action off Cape Finisterre ; 
Buonaparte, he likewise knew, had publicly spoken of him in the 
most sarcastic manner ; and to complete his misfortunes, he had 
received private intelligence, tliat Admiral Rosily was ordered 
from Paris to supercede him in the command of the combined 
fleets at Cadiz. Under such circumstances, he naturally felt, 
that even a defeat could add but little to his disgrace ; whilst, 
on the contrary, a victory over a British fleet, commanded by 
the first hero of the age, would wipe off every supposed stain on 
his character, and cover him with immortal honour. Thus sit- 
uated, he resolved to put to sea before Admiral Rosily could 
arrive, in spite of every remonstrance of Admiral Gravina and 
other Spanish officers of rank, who vainly attempted to dissuade 
him from his design of giving battle to the British fleet, which 
they foresaw would be attended with the most disastrous conse- 
quences. Villeneuve, however, was immoveable ; and the intel- 
ligence he had received of Admiral Louis, and six sail of the 
line, being then absent from the fleet, induced him to believe that 



512 MEMOIRS OF 

Lord Nelson had only twenty-one sail of the line along Witli 
him, as he was ignorant of tlie reinforcement which had arrived 
from England, owing 'to the great distance at which the British 
fleet kept from Cadiz. On this supposition, Villeneuve's original 
disposition of his fleet is generally allowed to have been extreme- 
ly judicious — twenty-one of his ships were to be drawn up in the 
usual line of battle, to receive the first attack of the British fleet, 
whilst twelve of his select ships, forming a body of reserve to 
■windward, were to bear down, and to double upon the British 
line, after the action had commenced, and thus to place it be- 
tAveen two fires. Every other precaution was also taken that 
was thought most likely to insure success. Ten tliousand of dieir 
choicest troops were distributed throughout the fleet ; the French 
ships were furnished with every species of fire balls and combus- 
tibles to throw on board the English ships, in hopes of being able 
eitlier to burn them, or to produce such confusion as might great- 
ly facilitate their design of boarding, where an opportunity of- 
fered ; and several of the ships Avere repeatedly set on fire, and 
many of our seamen were dreadfully scorched, from this unusu- 
al mode of warfare. British skill and intrepidity, were however, 
completely triumphant over every obstacle that was opposed to 
them : notwithstanding the enemy in general, and particularly 
the Spaniards fought with great obstinacy, it is die opinion of 
the ablest oifficers in the fleet, that had there been a little more 
wind during the action, to have enabled the rear of our fleet ta 
have come up in proper time, hardly a ship of the enemy would 
have escaped. 

" The French Admiral, on seeing our fleet so much stronger 
than he expected, abandoned, his original plan, and formed the 
whole of his ships into one line, firmly waiting the attack of the 
British, which was conducted in a manner so bold and unexpect- 
ed, as to throw them into the greatest confusion. The Royal 
Sovereign, Vice-Admiral Collingwood, in particular, which first 
broke through the enemy's line, excited the general admiration 
of both fleets. 

" The bravery of our seamen has never been doubted ; but the 
uncommon success and marked superiority which they displayed 



LORD NELSON. 313 

over the enemy on this glorious day, are chiefly to be attributed 
to that cool intrepidity and discipline which prevailed throughout 
the fleet in a high degree : a very remarkable proof of which is, 
that we have not heard of one accident having happened on board 
any of our ships, from hurry or carelessness, during the whole 
of the engagement. 

" We do not recollect any general action, where so many of 
our ships ran on board those of the enemy ; no less than five of 
the French captured ships were engaged so closely, that the 
muzzles of our lower-j^eck guns touched those of the enemy ; 
and it is worthy of remark, that in every instance where this oc- 
curred, the Frenchmen immediately lowered tlieir ports and de- 
serted their guns on that deck, whilst our seamen, on the contra- 
ry, were deliberately loading and firing their guns with two, 
and often with three round shot, which soon reduced the enemy's 
ships to a perfect wreck. 

** The dreadful slaughter onboard, and the shaL'iered condition 
of all the captured ships, whilst it shows with what obstinacy the 
enemy in general fought, is a convincing proof of the decided 
superiority our seamen possess over the enemy in close action. 

" It seems to be generally allowed, that the French fired with 
more vivacity at the commencement of the action than the 
Spaniards ; but that the Spaniards showed more firmness and 
courage to the end than the French. Amongst the Spanish ships, 
the Argonauta and Bahama were defended to the last extremi- 
ty, each of them having about 400 men killed or wounded. 
The San Juan Nupomucena was also fought with the utmost 
gallantry, till her captain and 350 of her crew were killed or 
wounded. 

" The Prince d'Asturias and Santa Anna both likewise show- 
ed great bravery in the action. 

" However disastrous this victory may have proved to the 
Spanish navy, the national character of that country has risen 
greatly In our estimation even by their defeat. As enemies 
though vanquished, their gallantry commands the highest re- 
spect ; and the humanity with which every English sailor, tliat 
fell Into their liands, was treated, exceeds all praise. They re- 

41 



314 MEMOIRS OF 

fused to consider as prisoners of war such of our officers and men. 
as were driven on their coast in the captured ships by the vio- 
lence of the storm ; every exertion was made from the shore to 
save their lives, and the Spanish soldiers were turned out of their 
beds to accommodate our shipwrecked seamen, who experienced 
every mark of kindness and attention that a generous enemy 
could bestow. 

" The behaviour of the French, on the contrary, in several 
instances, both during and after the engagement, forms so mel- 
ancholy a contrast to the bravery and humanity of the Spaniards, 
that, as we have felt it our duty to render the latter that applause 
which their conduct so truly entitles them to, we think it equally 
an act of justice to record, with impartiality, the baseness of the 
French, both to their allies and foes. 

" It has been stated as an extraordinary, and almost incredible 
fact, that three French ships under a rear-admiral, who had no 
share in the action, did, in their flight, fire for some time upon the 
Santissima Trinidada, and others of the Spanish prizes, after 
they had struck their colours to the English. We now find, 
from the concurring testimony of several Spanish officers of rank, 
who were on board the ships to which we have alluded, that 
Rear-Admiral Dumanoir was the person who led on his divi- 
sion to the perpetration of this bloody deed, so worthy the days 
of Robespierre, by which several hundreds of the Spaniards were 
killed and wounded. 

« We believe that Dumanoir (whose fate is as yet, however, 
uncertain,) is the only French admiral that can have escaped to 
tell the tidings of that fatal day ; and we have no doubt but that 
in his relation of the battle, of which he prudently chose to be a 
distant spectator, he will enlarge with peculiar satisfaction on the 
uncommon exertions, which he undoubtedly made, to sink or 
destroy the Spanish ships after they had surrendered to the 
English. 

" We have already stated, tliat all the English sailors on board 
of the Spanish prizes, which fell into the hands of the Spaniards, 
were treated with the utmost humanity, and not considered as 
prisoners. How widely different the conduct of the French was 
the following will show ;— 



LORD NELSON. 315 

" On the surrender of the Bucentaure, an officer and a hundred 
?nen were sent to take possession of her, who conducted them- 
selves with that moderation and forbearance to a vanquished 
enemy which is characteristic of Britons. The violent storm 
which so soon followed the engagement, prevented the removal 
of the prisoners, and drove the Bucentaure towards Cadiz, when 
the Frenchmen, from their superior numbers, were easily ena- 
bled to take possession of the ship and carry her into the harbour, 
vyhere, however, she was stranded and completely wrecked. The 
crevv' and the party of Englishmen were taken off the wreck by 
the boats of one of the French frigates in the harbour, and car- 
ried on board of the vessel, where, will it be believed ? the infa- 
mous and cowardly crew of the frigate, when they saw some of 
the gallant conquerors of their admiral and his fleet completely 
in their power, unarmed and exhausted with fatigue and ship- 
wreck, and incapable of resistance ; in this situation, did these 
dastardly Frenchmen, in revenge for tlie defeat they had sus- 
tained, assault and treat with the utmost cruelty, and with every 
species of insult and inhumanity, many of the unfortunate and 
defenceless English prisoners, whom the fury of the elements, 
and not the fate of battle, had thus subjected to their power. 

*' We sincerely hope that the officers and crew of the frigate, 
who allowed or committed this detestable act, will not escape 
with impunity ; in the mean time it gives us real satisfaction to 
find, that orders are given, that no more of the French prisoners, 
now in our possession, shall be permited to return to Spain upon 

'their parole, but they are to be sent to England by the first op- 
portunity. 

' V. <«';^11 the Spanish prisoners, on the contrary, who have been 
broi^ht to this place, to the amount of upwards of three thou- 
sand, have been sent back to Spain, except one wounded officer, 
now in the Naval Hospital, who earnestly requested to be al- 
lowed to remain under the care of English surgeons, till his 
wounds were cured.* 

* It is proper to acknowledge here, that General Castanos, commander 
hi chief of the camp before the Garrison, and M. Abadia, Spanish agent 
for the exchange of prisoners, have omitted no exertion of heirs to facili- 
tate the generous intentions of the English admiral. 



316 MEMOIRS OF 

*' We have also the pleasure to leam, that the Spaniards, since 
their return to Spain, have universally expressed the liveliest 
sense of gratitude for the generosity and humanity they invaria- 
bly experienced- whilst they were prisoners on board of the dif- 
ferent English men of war, where it seemed to be the study of 
their conquerors to make them forget their misfortunes. 

*' Indeed, our navy will deserve this tribute of applause from 
their enemies ; upwards of a hundred of our gallant seamen have 
perished, during the gale of wind after the action, in their gener- 
ous efforts to save the prisoners out of the different prizes. To re- 
cord the numerous and singular exertions that were made on this 
occasion by all the ships of the fleet, would far exceed the limits 
prescribed to us j we cannot however, pass over in silence the 
conduct of Captain Malcolm, and his ship's company, in the 
Donnegal, who at the imminent hazard of being totally lost, res- 
cued hundreds of the enemy from a watery grave. 

•* Two instances of the noble humanity shown by this ship, we 
shall mention : — During the violence of tlie gale, when she was 
riding at anchor near the Berwick, then in possession of the 
English, some of the French prisoners, on board the prize, in a 
fit of madness or desperation, cut the cables of the Berwick, by 
■which means she immediately drove towards the dangerous shoals 
of St. Lucar, then to leeward, where there was hardly a chance 
of a man being saved. In this situation Captain Malcolm, 
without hesitation, ordered the cables of the Donnegal to be in- 
stantly cut, and stood after the Berwick, to which he dispatched 
his boats with orders first to save the wounded Frenchmen, be- 
fore they brought off any of the English, which order was most 
punctually complied with ; the English were next removed, but 
before the boats could return the Berwick struck upon the 
shoals, and every soul on board perished, to the number of three 
hundred. 

" The wounded Frenchmen who were thus saved, were sup- 
plied with the cots and bedding which had been prepared for our 
own sick and wounded : and, after being treated with every kind- 
ness and mark of attention, they were sent into Cadiz by a flag of 
truce with all the cots and bedding in which they had been pla- 



LORD NELSON, 31^ 

ced, that they might sufFer as little pain or inconvenience as pos- 
sible in theii- removal. 

" The otlier instance we shall notice was as follows : — On the 
26th of October, whilst the Donnegal was at anchor off Cadiz, 
in a violent gale of wind, with upwards of 600 prisoners then on 
deck, an unfortunate Spanish prisoner fell overboad. Notwith- 
standing the sea was then running so high that they had not ven- 
tured to lioist out a boat for twelve hours before, two seamen be- 
longing to the Donnegal immediately jumped overboard after 
him, in hopes of saving his life, to the admiration of the Span- 
iards, who were lost in astonishment at so daring an act. The 
poor man, however, sunk, and was drowned, just as one of the 
English seamen had nearly hold of him ; a boat was immediately 
lowered, and fortunately the two gallant fellows were got on 
board safe. 

*' The English officers who have returned from Cadiz, state, 
that the account of Lord Nelson's death was received there with 
extreme sorrow and regret by the Spaniards, and that some of 
them were even observed to shed tears on the occasion. They 
said, " that fliough he had been the ruin of their navy, yet they 
could not help lamenting his fall, as being the most generous enemy ^ 
and the greatest commander of the age !" 

Extracts from the Supplement to the Gihr altar Chronicle, for No' 
'vemher 2, 1805. 
" We have endeavoured, since the arrival of the Victory, tlie 
ship onboard of which Lord Nelson's flag was flying during the 
whole of the late action, to obtain every information in our power 
on the subject. It was his lordship's intention to have broken 
through the enemy's line, between the tenth and eleventh of the 
enemy's ships in the van ; at the same time that Admiral Col- 
lingwood penetrated their line about tlic twclth ship from the rear; 
but finding the enemy's line in that part so close, that there was 
not room to pass, he ordered the Victory to be run on board of 
the ship that opposed him ; and the Temerairc, by which the 
Victory was seconded, also ran on board of the next ship in the 
enemy's line, so that these four ships were for a considerable 
time engaged together in one mass as it were, and so close, that 



318 MEMOIRS OF 

tj^e flash of almost every gun fired from die Victor}^ set fire to iha 
Redoubtable, to which ship she was at that time opposed : whilst 
our seamen, with the greatest coolness, were at intervals employ- 
ed, in the midst of the hottest fire, in throwing buckets of water 
to extinguish the flames on board of the enemy's ship, lest, by 
their spreading, they might involve both ships in destruction.— 
We question if ancient or modern history can produce a more 
striking instance of cool and deliberate valour ; and it certainly 
reflects the highest honour upon the dicipline and intrepidity of 
that ship's crew. 

*• Lord Nelson, on receiving his wound, was immediately sen- 
sible it was mortal j and said with a smile to Captain Hardy, with 
whom he had been talking at that moment, " t/iey have done for 
vie at last.^' He was soon obliged to be carried off the deck ; 
and as they were conducting him below, he remarked the tiller- 
rope being too slack, which he desii-ed tliem to acquaint Captain 
Hardy with, and have it tightened. His anxiety for the event of 
the day was such, as totally to surmount the pains of death, and 
every other consideration ; he repeatedly sent to inquire how the 
battle went, and expressed the most lively satisfaction to find it fa- 
vourable. Whilst bearing down on the enemy's line, he had re- 
pea'tedly said, " that it ivas the happiest day of his /fe, and thai 
from the plan of attack he had laid doivti, he expected that he should 
have possession of twenty of their ships before night." His lov^er 
extremities soon became cold and insensible, and the effusion of 
blood from his lungs often threatened suffocation : but still his 
eyes seemed to brighten, and his spirits to revive, at hearing the 
cheers given by the crew of the Victory, as the different ships 
of the enemy surrendered. About four o'clock he became ex- 
ceedingly anxious to see his friend Captain Hardy ; and he sent 
for him several times, before that gallant officer thought it pru- 
dent to quit the deck at so interesting a moment. About five 
o'clock, however, when he saw that the victory was completely 
decided, and the battle nearly ended, he was enabled to attend to 
the last wishes of the dying hero, who eagerly inquired how many 
ships were captured ? On being told by Captain Hardy, that he 
was certain of twelve having struck, which he could see, but that 



LORD NELSON. 319 

i5ro'bably more had surrendered, his lordship said, " What, only 
twelve ! there should at least have been fifteen, or sixteen, by my 
calculation: however, (after a short pause, added) twelve are 
pretty well !" He now said, " that he felt death fast approaching, 
and that he had but a few minutes to live : He could have wish- 
ed to survive a little longer, to have seen the fleet in safety ; but, 
as that was impossible, he thanked God that he had outlived the 
action, and had been enabled to do his duty to his country." — - 
About this time he was roused by another cheer from the crew 
of the Victory, at their seeing some more of the enemy's ships 
strike their colours ; at which he expressed the highest satisfac- 
tion on learning the cause, and shortly after expired without a 
groan. The Frenchman by whose hand this matchless hero fell, 
was soon afterwards shot by Mr. Pollard, Midshipman of the 
Victory, and was seen to fall out of the mizen-top. 

*' It was his lordship's intention to have engaged the Bucen- 
taure, the French commander in chief's ship, at first, if he could 
have distinguished her ; but singular as it may appear, no per- 
son on board could discover the French admiral's flag to be fly- 
ing during the whole of the day ; though the Victory was for a 
considerable time within pistol-shot of her, and handled her so 
severely, as to render her incapable of taking any share in the 
engagement afterwards. 

" Three of the French ships in the van, who had no part in the 
action, and one of which carried a rear-admiral's flag, had the 
inhumanity, and cowardice, as they w^ere making their escape, to 
fire for a considerable time upon the Santissima Trinidada, and 
several others of the crippled Spanish prizes, after they had sur- 
rendered to us, wlaich, from their situation, were incapable eitlier 
of opposition or flight, and an immense number of tlie Spanish 
were killed and wounded, from this unprecedented and bloody 
deed of their good and ya/V/^w/ allies. We solemnly pledge our 
credit for the truth of this extraordinary fact, to which every offi- 
cer on board of our victorious squadron now in the bay can bear 
witness. Indeed, such was the indignation felt and expressed by 
the Spaniards, at the conduct of the French, that when, two 
days after the action, seven of the enemy's ships came cut of 



320 MEMOIRS OF 

Cadiz, In hopes of retaking some of the disabled prizes, the Spa^ 
nish crew of the Argonauta, in a body, offered their services to 
the British officer who had charge of the prize, to man the guns 
against any of the French ships ; and they were actually station- 
ed at the lower- deck guns for that purpose, whilst the English 
seamen manned those of the upper deck. The English officer 
on board returned all the Spanish officers their arms, and placed 
the most implicit confidence in the honour of the Spaniards ; 
which he had no rea.son to repent : for though their numbers were 
so superior, as easily to have enabled them to retake the ship, 
yet they on every occasion showed the utmost submission and 
good conduct, and declared, that if a Spanish ship came alongside 
of them, they would quietly go below and leave the English to 
act for themselves. — His Majesty's ship Prince, of 98 guns, Cap- 
tiin Grindall, is come in here, having on board Rear-Admiral 
Don Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, with the Captain and 500 
men belonging to the Santissima Trinidada. Also the Revenge, 
of 7^ gims. Captain Moorson ; Agamemnon, 6i:, Captain Sir E. 
Berry ; Thur derer, 74-, Lieutenant Stockam ; Bellerophon, 74? 
Lieutenant Cumby ; Colossus, 74', Captain Morrlce ; and Victo- 
ry, 100, Captain Hardy, on board of which is the body of Lord 
Nelson. Also just arrived his Majesty's ships Conqueror, 71' ; 
Temeraire, 98 ; Royal Sovereign, 100; Defence, 74 ; Orion 74-, 
and Phoebe frigate, with two of the prizes, the French Swiftsure, 
*J-i>, and Ildefonso, 74?. 

" Though it is highly honourable to the bravery of the Spanish 
nation, we m.ost sincerely regret to find, that the loss both in 
ships and men on this occasion has chiefly fallen upon them ; 
they were unwillingly dragged into the contest by their good and 
faithful allies tlie French, who were, as usual, tlie first to fly, and 
desert them ir the middle of the action ; it appearing from every 
account that four of the French ships were seen running away 
about two hours and a half after the battle had begun." 

In respect to what immediately preceded the hor- 
rid event which the trembling pen Of history almost 
feels itself unequal to the melancholy task of record- 



LORD NELSON. 321 

ing, it appears, that immediately previous to the 
dreadful shot being fired, which deprived his country 
of its brightest ornament, his lordship was standing on 
the quarter deck of the Victory, moving, as was his 
custom, whenever he was much pleased, the shoulder, 
or rather sleeve of his right arm, up and down with the 
greatest rapidity, but having unfortunately remained 
too long in the same posture and situation, he afford- 
ed sufficient time to a marksman on the poop of the 
Bucentaure, which then lay on the Victory's quarter, 
to take a deliberate, and unhappily too correct an aim 
at him. Captain Hardy, who was standing near his 
lordship, observed him in the very actj and had hard- 
ly time to exclaim, " Change your position, my 
Lord ! I see a rascal taking aim at you :" the fatal 
shot unhappily took place at the same instant. 

Of Lord Nelson it might be truly said that he 
sought not to raise himself on the stilts of popularity, 
by assuming a temporary patriotism, foreign, to the 
feelings of his heart ; or pretending to qualifications, 
which, when in reality possessed, serve only to de- 
grade the mind, in other respects great and noble. 
That he was ambitious, no person acquainted with 
his character will venture to deny ; but his ambition 
was of the mildest quality, and nourished only by 
the reflection, of its becoming serviceable to his coun- 
try. Venerated with a degree of enthusiasm, nearly 
equal to idolatry, he disdained to render that advan- 
tage, so much envied by many, but which he 
had so honestly acquired, subservient to the cause 
of faction, or the clamour of party. His ambition, 
let the term be repeated, would have induced him 

42 



322 MEMOIRS OP' 

to undertake the most d:\ngerous, and desperate ser- 
vice, if he thought his libiliiies could be useful. Had 
he considered the interests of his countn- demanded 
it, he would, even at the latest moment of his life, 
have acted with pleasure in the most subordinate ca- 
pacity, or exulted in taking upon himself the danger, 
and the responsibility, of commanding half the naval 
force of the universe. 

As a naval officer, in whatever rank, or command 
he appeared, be was greeted by the acclamations, 
and follo'ved by the reiterated applauses of those he 
was sent to protect. The shores of the Mediterra- 
nean hailed him as their friend ; and the most valua- 
ble colonies of Britain, as their deliverer. Benevo- 
lent, humane, and gentle, even in the hour of con- 
quest, the terrors of his arms ceased on the same mo- 
ment with resistance ; the foe became instantly con- 
verted into the guardian, and instead of being fol- 
lo^^■ed by the curses, he was blessed in the prayers 
of the vanquished. 

It could scarcely be denominated his good fortune, 
that although a conqueror, he uniformly escaped the 
charge of having encouraged extortion, or connived 
at plunder, and thereby alienated the affections of the 
newlv- acquired subjects of the British government. 
Such ideas were foreign to his soul ; and his captives, 
freed from their imaginary chains, constantly beheld 
tlieir victor converted into their parent, and friend. 

Of the commerce, and true interests of his coun- 
tr\', he formed the most correct ideas ; he was aware 
that independent of all speculative opinions, and ab- 
stracted from the wild, the romantic effusions of a 



LORD KELSON. 323 

distempered splenetic part}', the commerce of Bri- 
tain had become so intimately connected with its 
welfare, that the interruption of one, must inevitably 
cause the destruction of the other. Impressed with 
this truth, his exertions were so actively, and unre- 
mittingiv made, that he may 1:^ said, at the same 
time, to have increased the commercial wealth, while 
he advanced the naval glory of his country. 

But come — no time's for lamentatioTi covr ; 

. Sampson hath quit himself 

Lite Sampson, and, heroically, hath finish'd 

A life heroic ; to his eoemies 

Hith left years of mounxiiig 

And lamentation : to Israel 

Hoaonr hath left, and freedom : 

To himself, and fiither's house, eternal ^me. 

Samsox Agosistes. 



FINIS. 



X 

ON THE 



DEATH OF LORD NELSON. 

By Hon. Charles James Fox, 



IN Death's terrific icy arms 

The brave, illustrious Nelson lies ; 
He's free from care and war's alarms, 

Sees not our tears, nor hears our sighs. 

Cold is the heart where valour reign'd, 
Mute is the tongue that joy inspir'd, 

Still is the arm that conquest gain'd, 
And dim the eye that glory fir'd. 

Too mean for him, a world like this ! 

He's landed on the happy shore, 
Where all the brave partake of bliss, 

^nd heroes meet to part no more. 



P P E N D I X. 



LETTERS 



WRITTEN 



BT LORD VISCOUNT NELSON 



fLLUSlRATITEOF VARIOUS EVENTS RELATED IN THE MEMOiR^ 
OF HIS LIFE. 



OF all evidence whatever, there is none perhaps more inter- 
esting, or satisfactory, than that which is collected from letters, 
written immediately subsequent to the event they record ; they 
become particularly so, when proceeding from the pen of a man, 
who never supposed, or expected they would meet the public 
eye ; such is the hurry and carelessness, which the generality cf 
the world accustom themselves to, in epistolary correspondence, 
that there are perhaps but few instances, where the publication 
of such documents, would refleift material honour on the writer. 
This, however, is by no means the case, in respect to Lord Vis- 
count Nelson ; so general, and so ujiaffected a spirit of piety, be- 
nevolence, philanthropy, perseverance, loyalty to his sovereign, 
and love for the true interests of his country, pervades every line, 
that to withhold them from the inspection of the world, would 
be an act not of ingratitude, but of injustice. 

Let mankind read the letters, and judge for themselves : 
whetlier, in the detail of the virtues attributed to the noble writ- 
er the smallest trace is discernible, either of flattery, or exag- 
geration. 

N. B. These letters, the last one excepted, were addressed 
by Lord Nelson to William Locker, Esq. late lieutenant-govern- 
or, of Greenwich-Hospital. 



32S APPEN'DIX. 

EXTRACT. 

Portsmoutht April 2 J, 1782, 

MY DEAR SIR, 

I OUGHT to be scolded for not having wrote to you for 
this long time past. I can make very lame excuses. The wea- 
ther has been so very bad for these ten days, and southerly winds 
so strong, that I have not been able to get the old Albermarle out 
of the harbour. I am ordered to Cork to join the Dcedalus, Cap- 
tain Pringle, and go with a convoy to Quebec, where worse thi.n 
all to tell, 1 understand I am to winter. I want much to be off 
from this voyage, and I believe if I had time to look a little about 
me, I could get another ship. Mr. Adair, who attends on Mr. 
Keppel, might tell him that in such a country I shall be laid up, 
for he has told me that if I was sent to a cold damp climate, it 
would make me worse than everjj many of my navy friends have 
advised mc to represent mj situation to Admiral Keppel, and 
tliey have no doubt tliat he would give me other orders, or re- 
move me ; but as I received my orders from Lord Sandwich, I 
cannot help thinking it wrong to ask Mr. Keppel to alter them* 
I hope to hear by next post you have a ship. 
Farewel, &c. 

Horatio Nelson. 

(Tlie pMts omitted are such as relate to private family concerns onl)-, 
tlierefore totally uninteresting to the public. The preceding extract proves 
the shattered state of his constitution, even at that early age, and the zeal 
with which he chose to encounter the intemperature, and inclemency of 
any climate whatever, rather than make a complaint which he thought 
could in the most distant degree affect the service.) 



Albermarle J Isle of BeCy River St. LatOrencef 
Oct. I9th, 1782. 

MY DEAR SIR, 

My letter from Newfoundland, by way of Lisbon, if you 
€ver will receive, you have got long before this time ; but this I 
most sincerely hope will not find you at Gray's Inn ; but that Old 
England, at this time of need, \v'ill have the services of so good an 
oiBcer. We arrived here with the convoy on the 1st of July, and 



APPENDIX. 529 

sailed upon a cruise the 4th, and returned to Quebec on the 17th 
of September, knocked up with scurvy ; having myself for eight 
weeks, together with all the officers, lived upon salt beef; nor had 
the ship's company a single fresh meal since the 7th of April. — 
In the end our cruise has been an unsuccessful one ; we have tak- 
en, seen, and destroyed more enemies than is seldom done in the 
same space of time, but not one arrived in port ; I do not repine at 
cur loss : we have in other respects been very fortunate, for on the 
14th of August we fell in with,in Boston Bay, four sail of the line 
and the Iris French man ofwar, partof Mons. Vaudreuil's squad- 
ron, who gave us a pretty dance for nine or ten hours, but we beat 
all except the frigate, and though we brought to for her, after we 
were out of sight of the line of battle ships, she tacked and stood 
from us ; our escape I think wonderful ; they were upon the clear- 
ing up of a fog within shot of us, and chased us the whole time a- 
bout one point from the wind : the frigate I fancy had not forgotten 
the dressing Captain Salter had given tlie Amazon, for daring to 
leave the line of battle ships. A fortnight ago when I was at Que- 
bec with no other expectation, or desires than to return to Eng- 
land, arrived the Drake sloop, and Cockatrice cutter, with orders 
for the transports to be fitted for the reception of troops, and to be 
sent to New- York : in consequence thereof old Wortli has given 
me orders to carry the fleet to New- York — a xtry pretty job at this 
late season of tlie year, for our sails are at this moment frozen to 
the yards. The wind has this moment flown round from the east- 
ward to the west, and I have just made the signal to unmoor : 
you shall hear from me again when I reach New- York. 

Adieu, &c. 

Horatio Nelson. 

(That singular modesty, which pei-vaded every action of his lordship's 
life; is remarkably conspicuous in the foregoing letter, although his conduce 
had been so exemplary and gallant on the preceding occasion ; yet, even in 
a private conimunication to a most intimate friend, he forbore not only from 
assuming the smallest merit to himself, but attributes the conclusion of that 
event to the bravery of another officer, on an occasion totally uncoiinectsd 
with himself.) 

43 



330 APPENDIX. 

EXTRACTS. 

Memarle, New-Yorh, Nov. Hih, 1782. 

MY DEAR SIR) 

I FOUND Lord Hood here 

upon my arrival, and I have requested him to take me with him 
to the West-Indies ; he has viTitten to Admiral Digby for me, 
and I was to have sailed with the fleet this day, but for some pri- 
vate reasons, when my ship was under sail from New-York to 
join Hood, I was sent for on shore, and told I was to be kept forty- 
eight hours after the sailing of the fleet : it is much to my private 
advantage, but I had rather have sailed with the fleet ; if there is 
wind enough they sail this day 

I am a candidate (with Lord Hood) for a line of battle ship : 
he has honoured me highly by a letter, for wishing to go off this 
station, to a station of service, and has promised me his friend- 
ship : Prince William is with him ; I think it is the prelude to 
the Di^by's going off this station ; money is the great object 
here, nothing else attended to. 

The French are still in Boston. The packet sails to-morrow, 
and I havebeen so much employed in fitting my ship, that I could 
not get time to write before to-day, and you must excuse me for 
not saying more ; though I could fill another sheet very well ; 
when I arrive in the West-Indies you will hear immediately from 
nie. Farewell, &c. 

Horatio Nelson. 



Albemarle, Cape Tikroon, Feb. 25, 1783. 
My situation in Lord Hood's fleet, must be in the high- 
est degree flattering to a young man. He treats me as if I was his 
son, and will, I am convinced, give me anything I can ask of him ; 
nor is my situation with Prince William less flattering. Lord 
Hood was so kind as to tell him (Indeed I cannot make use of ex- 
pressions strong enough to describe what I felt) that if he wished 
to ask questions relative to naval tactics, I could give him as much 
information as any officer in the fleet. He will be, I am certain. 



APPENDIX. 331 

an ornament to our service. He is a seaman, which, perhaps, 
you would hardly suppose. Every other qualification you may 
expect from him. A vast deal of notice has been taken of him at 
Jamaica ; he has been addressed by the Council, and the House 
of Assembly were to address him the day after I sailed. He has 
his levees at Spanish Tov/n : they are all highly delighted with 
him. With the best temper, and great good sense, he cannot 
fail of being pleasing to every one. 



SaUsbury-Street,, Strand, July 12, 1783. 
When I look at the date of your letter I received at 
Portsmouth, I ought to be ashamed at not having written to you, 
but you always knew I was a careless fellow, although,be assured, 
my great esteem and respect for you can never be lessened. My 
time, ever since I arrived in town,has been taken up in attempting 
to get the wages due to my good fellows for various ships they 
have served in during the war. The disgust of the seamen to the 
navy is all owing to the infernal plan of turning them over from 
ship to ship, so that men cannot be attached to tljeir officers, or 
their officers care two-pence about them : my ship was paid oiF 
last week ; and In such a manner as must flatter any officer ; par- 
ticularly in these turbulent times : tlie whole ship's company of- 
fered, if" I could get a ship, to enter for her immediately, but I 
have no thoughts of going to sea, for I cannot afford to live on 
board ships. In such a manner as Is going on at present. Yester- 
day Lord Hood carried me to St. James's ; the King was exceed- 
ingly attentive ; on Monday, or Tuesday, I am to be at Windsor, 
to take leave of Prince William, previous to his embarkation for 
the continent. 



St. Omer, Nov. 2J, 1783. 

MY DEAR SIR, 

Our travels since we left you, have been extended to 
much greater length tlian I apprehended ; but I must do Captain 
Mac the justice to say it was all my doing, and In a great measure 



SS2 APPENDIX. 

against his advice ; but experience bought is best ; and all my 
experience I have paid pretty dearly for. We dined at Canterbu- 
ry, the day we parted from you, and called at Captain Sandys* 
house, but he was just gone out to dinner, In tlie country, therefore 
we did not see him : we slept at Dover, and next morning at 
seven o'clock, put to sea with a fine N. W. wind, and at half past 
ten we were safe at breakfast in Mons. Grandsire's houseat Calais. 
His mother kept It Avhen Hogarth wrote his Gate of Calais. — 
Sterne's Sentimental Journey is die best description I can give of 
our tour. Mac advised me to go first to St. Omer, as he had ex- 
perienced tlie difficulty of attempting to fix In any place where 
tliere are no English ; after dinner we set off, intending to go to 
Montrieul, sixty miles from Calais ; they told us we travelled en 
paste ; but I am sure we did not get on more than four miles an 
hour : I was highly diverted in seeing what curious figures the 
postiUions in their jack boots and their rats of horses made to- 
gether. Their chaises have no springs, and the road generally 
paved like London streets ; therefore you will naturally suppose 
we were pretty well shaken togctlier by the time we had travelled 
two posts and a half, which is fifteen miles, to Marquees ; here we 
were shewn into an inn |^//;ry called it) I should have called it a 
pigstie ; we wete shewn Into a room with two straw beds, and with 
great difficulty they mustered up clean sheets ; and gave us two 
pigeons for supper, upon a dirty cloth, witli v»rooden-handled 
knives — what a transition from happy Euvland! But we laugh- 
ed at die repast, and went to bed with the determination that 
nodiing should ruffle our tempers. Having slept very well, we 
set off at day-light for Boulogne, where we breakfasted : this place 
was full of English, I suppose because wine is so very cheap ; we 
went on after breakfast to Montrieul, and passed through the finest 
corn country that my eyes ever beheld, diversified with fine woods 
sometimes for two miles together, through noble forests. The 
roads mostly were well planted widi trees, which made as fine an 
avenue as to any gentleman's country seat. Montrieul is thirty 
miles from Boulogne, situated upon a small hill, in the middle ofa 
fine plain, which reached as far as the eye could carry you, except 
toward the sea, which is about twelve miles from it. We put up 



APPENDIX. 333 

at the same house, and with the same jolly landlord that recom- 
mended La Fleur to Sterne. Here we wished much to have fixed, 
but neither good lodgings, or masters could be procured ; for 
there is no middling class of people ; sixty noblemen's families 
lived in the town, they owned the vast plain round it, and the rest 
are very poor indeed. This is the finest country for game diat 
ever I was in; partridges are sold at twopence halfpenny a couple, 
pheasants and woodcocks in proportion, and in short every species 
of poultry. We dined, supped, lay, and breakfasted next day, 
Saturday ; then we proceeded upon our tour, leaving Moptrieul 
you may suppose with great regret ; we reached Abbeville at 
eight o'clock: but unluckily for us, two Englishmen, one of whom 
called himself Lord K'mgsland, I cannot possibly suppose it to 
have been him, and a Mr. Bullock, decamped at three o'clock 
that^afternoon in debt to every shopkeeper in tlie place. These 
gentlemen kept elegant houses, horses, &c. so that we found the 
town in an uproar. No masters could be had at this place that 
could speak a word of English, and all masters that can speak 
English grammatically,attend at theplaces frequented bythe Eng- 
lish, that is to say, St. Omer's, Lisle, Dunkirk and Boulogne, to 
the northv.-ard of Paris, so that as I had no intention of travelling 
to tlie south of France till the spring at any rate, I determined, 
with Mac's advice, to steer for St. Omer's, where we arrived last 
Tuesday : and I own I was surprised to find, instead of a dirty, 
nasty town, which I had always heard it represented, a large city, 
well paved, gootfTtreets, and well lighted. We lodge in a pleas- 
ant French family, and have our dinners sent from a irailcur's. 
There are two very agreeable young ladies, daughters, who /jonour 
us with tlieir company very often : one always makes our break- 
fast, and the other our tea ; and play a game of cards in the eve- 
ning. Therefore I must learn French if it is only for the pleasure 
of talking to tliem, for they do not speak a word of English. — 
Here are a great number of English in this place,but we visit only 
two families ; if I did I should never speak French. Two noble 
captains are here ; you do not know, I believe, either of them ; 
they have not visited me, and I shall not, be assured, court their 
acquaintance. If Charles Pole is arrived, and you write to him, 



Sol APPENDIX. 

give my kind respects to him ; I esteem him as a brotlier : tell 
me where I can write to him. You must be heartily tired of this 
long epistle, if you can read it, but I have the worst pen in the 
world, and I can't mend it. God bless you, and be assured 
I am your sincere friend. 

And affectionate humble servant, 

Horatio Nelsom. 

Captain Macnamara desires his compliments to you ; his and 
mine to Mrs. Bradley, Dyne, &c.— Direct to me A Monsieur 
Monsieur Nelson, chez Madame La Mourie, St. Oraer, en Artois. 



St. Omer's Nov. 22, 1783. 

?,IY DEAR TRIEND, 

Your kind letter I received last niglit. I concluded 
you were in London, as I had not the pleasure of hearing from 
you sooner. Since I wrote last I have been very near coming to 
England, occasioned by the melancholy account I received of my 
dear sister's death : my father, whose grief on the occasion was 
intolerable, is, I hope, better ; therefore I shall not come over ; 
she died at Batli after nine days illness, in the twenty-first year of 
her age ; it was occasioned by coming out of the ball-room im- 
mediately from dancing. Your time with Captain Reynolds must 
have been very agreeable ; the good opinion he is pleased to en- 
tertain of me is highly flattering ; it is more than my short ac- 
quaintance wltli him had a right to expect. Frencli goes on but 
slowly ; but patience, of which you know I have not much, and 
perseverance, will make me master of it. Here are two navy 
captains at this place, but we do not visit ; they are very fine gen- 
tlemen with epaulets ; you may suppose I hold them a little 
ei2eap for putting on any part of a Frenchman's uniform. Mac- 
namara is very much obliged to you for the trouble you have 
taken about his picture ; he will write a postscript at the end of 
his letter. Captain Young visited me to-day, and to-morrow we 
meet at dinner; I shall certainly deliver your compliments-; he is 
come over to place his brother, who is a lieutenant, in a French 
family. He returns immediately to England. Mac was present 



APPENDIX. 335 

last night at a very elegant ball, but my mind Is too much taken 
lip with the recent account of my dear sister's death to partake 
of any amusements. 

I am much obliged to Charles Pole for his remembrance ; I 
should have written to him had I known where to have directed a 
letter. When you write to Captain Reynolds give my best com- 
pliments, and to Captain and Mrs. Gardner also. If I am not in 
England before the vnnter is over, I shall go to Paris inthe spring ; 
where I have received a most polite invitation from the officer 
whom I detained off Porto Cavallo ; I did not know his rank at 
that time, or after, till I came here ; he went by the name of 
Count de Deux Fonts. He is a prince of the Empire, a general 
of the French army, knight of tlie grand order of St. Louis, and 
was second in command at the capture of York- town. His 
brotlier is heir apparent of the electorate of Bavaria, and of the 
Palatinate. The present Elector is eighty years of age, and this 
gentleman's brother is upon his death-bed ; so most probably I 
shall have had tiie hofiour of having taken prisoner a man, who 
will be a sovereign prince of Europe, and brings into the field 
nearly a hundred thousand men ; his letter is truly expresssive 
of the attention that was paid him, when on board my ship. 
There are a vast number of English at this place ; I visit 
but few of them. In two of them I am very happy in their ac- 
quaintance ; one is the brother of Massingberd, who was in the 
Lowestoffe ; he is very polite, and his lady a very complete gen- 
tlewoman ; we are quite at home : — the other is an English cler- 
gyman, who has a very large family, two very agreable daugh- 
ters grown up, about twenty years of age, who play and sing to 
us whenever we go. I must take care of my heart I assure you. 
Cod bless you my dear friend, 

I am yours, most sincerely, 

Horatio Nelson. 



PorUmcuth, jilprll 21, 17S4. 

MY DiAR SIR, 

Since I parted from you, I have encountered many 
disagreeable adventures. The day after I left you, we sailed at 



336 APPENDIX. 

daylight, just after high water. The d—d pilot, It makes me 
swear to think of it, ran the ship aground, where she lay with so 
little water that the people could walk round her till next high 
water. That night and part of the next day we lay below the 
Nore with a hard gale of wind and snow ; Tuesday I got into 
the Downs ; Wednesday I got into a quarrel with a Dutch India- 
man who had Englishmen on board, which we settled, though 
with some difficulty. The Dutchman has made a complaint 
against me ; but the Admiralty fortunately approved my conduct 
in the business, a thing they are not very guilty of where there 
is a likelihood of a scrape. And yesterday to complete me, I was 
ridin"- a hlach"uard horse that ran away with me at Common, 
carried me round all the works into Portsmouth, by the London 
gates, through the to^\-n out at the gate that leads to Common, 
where there was a waggon in the road, which is so very narrow 
that a horse could barely pass. To save my legs, and perhaps 
my life, I was obliged to throw myself from the horse, which I 
did with great agility ; but unluckily upon hard stones, which 
has hurt my back and my leg, but done no other mischief. It 
was a thousand to one tliat I had not been killed. To crown all, 
a young girl was with me ; her horse ran away as well as mine ; 
but most fortunately a gallant young man seized the horse's bri- 
dle a moment before I dismounted, and saved her from the de- 
struction she could not have avoided. Kingsmill came to town 
on Sunday, and has taken possession of his ship and land frigate 
again. Lady Hughes is here, but I have not received my orders. 
Give my compliments to Madam Bradley, &c. and rest assured, 
I am yours, 

Most sincerely, 

Horatio Nelsom. 



Boreas^ Spithead, May 14, 1784, 

MY DEAR FRIEND, 

The Commissioner is now paying my ship, and I am 
making use of my time, that I may be able to save post, for 
none goes out to-morrow. I was agreeably surprised by your 



APPENDIX. 337 

letter, fof I did not expect to hear you was in London. I thank 
you much for your news, which if true, hostihties must com- 
mence soon again with the French : God send, I say. But if 
Coniwallis is going out, I shall be a little vexed I am not to be 
one of the ships. Whenever I go to Dominica, you may be as- 
sured that every circumstance relative to your estate shall be in- 
quired into. Jamaica is the place I wish to go to. I have scarce-* 
ly time to say, how much 

I am your devoted, 

Horatio Nelson. 



English Harbour y Dec. 29, 1786. 

My dear friend, 

I AM sure it is a full twelvemonth since I have had ?. 
line ; you will say I do not deserve it ; oftener than that how- 
ever ; for since May I know of three letters which I put myself 
into the packet. If you think me unmindful of the favours and 
kindness I received at your hands, you do me injustice. I am 
at this moment more thankful for them than I was when they 
were granted ; then I was not capable of judging of their value. 
Let this be your opinion of your Horatio, and I trust it will be 
for die future. 

You will know long before this readies you, that Prince Wil- 
liam is under my command.* I shall endeavour to take care 
that he is not a loser by that circumstance. He has foibles, as 
well as private men, but tliey are far overbalanced by his vir- 
tues. In his professional line he is superior to near two thirds, 
I am sure, of the list ; and in attention to orders, and respect to 
his superiors, I know hardly his equal. The islanders have 
made vast entertainments for him ; but all this you will see in 
the English papers. 

I am in momentary expectation of Sir Richard Bickerton, 

from reports ; for the Admiralty are wonderfully secret. I wish 

he was arrived, for this state of uncertainty is very unpleasant. 

The Prince is to remain in these seas till May, when he returns 

* He commanded a ship in the division under Nelson, 

44 



338 APPENDIX. 

to Nova Scotlo, at which time I hope to set sail for OIJ Eng- 
land, for I am most heartily sick of tliese islands. 
Heaven bless you, my dear friend, and believe that 
I am unalterably your 

Horatio Nelson. 



Boreas f on her passage to Tortola. 
MY DEAR FRIEND, March 21, 1787- 

Your letter of December 26tli I received a few days 
ago ; as this is the second I have received dated Kensington, I 
shall direct tliis thither. I wish I may be able to procure any of 
the things your friend wants, but I fear it is too late on the sta- 
tion to expect much : indeed, my time since November, has been 
entirely taken up attending the Prince in his tour round tijese 
islands. However, except Grenada, this is the last, when I shall 
repair to English Harbour, and fit the Boreas for a voyage to 
England ; happy shall I be when that time arrives : no man has 
had more illness, or more trouble on a station than I have expe- 
rienced ; but let me lay a balance on the other side — I am mar- 
ried to an amiable woman that far makes amends for every thing ; 
indeed till I married her I never knew happiness. I shall have 
great pleasure in introducing you to her. Prince "William did 
me the honour to stand her father upon the occasion, and has 
shewn every act of kindness tliat tlie most professed friendship 
could bestow. His Royal Highness leaves this country in June, 
by which time I hope my orders will arrive, or somebody be ap- 
pointed to the command of this station. The wonder to me is, 
that any independent man will accept it, for there is nothing plea- 
sant to be got by it. Farewel, my dear Sir, and believe me to be 

Ever yours, 

Horatio Nelson. 



MY DEAR SIR, Chatham, Feb. 21, 1793. 

Most truly do I rejoice at your appointment,* and 
hope you will derive every comfort from it. I am very much 

* To be Lieutenant -governor of Giccnwhich Hospital. 



APPENDIX. 339 

disposed to like Mr. Fellows, and have told him so, and that 
every protection of mine he shall certainly have, against a waste 
of his stores, &c. but that he must be very careful, diat no just 
cause of complaint can be made against him, for I will not suffer 
any poor fellow to be lessened of his dues : he seems perfectly 
to understand me, and I dare say we shall do very well together. 
Don't be in a hurry about the charts ; 1 shall see you before we 
sail. Remember me to your sons, and believe me 
Yours most affectionately, 

Horatio Nelson, 



j^ugusi 20, 1793, of Toulon. 

MV DEAR FRIEND, 

I SHALL send by Troubridge, if I can find his ship, 
a cask of sherry, which I hope will prove good. The fleet has 
hitherto done nothing but look into Toulon ; Lord Hood went 
with the fleet ten days past to speak to tlie Genoese, about sup- 
plying the French with corn, and bringing back French property 
under neutral papers ; for our being here is a farce, if this trade 
is allowed. By all tlae accounts we learn, the district of Pro- 
vence would gladly become a separate republic under the protec- 
tion of England. The people of Marseilles have said, they would 
destroy Toulon to accomplish this measure. In short, France 
will be dismembered ;but in all theirmisery, they have no thought 
of kingly government. Lutwidge and Man have been very ill 
Indeed ; we had fears for them. Lord Hood, is very kind. Ag- 
amemnon sails well and is healthy, but we want to get into port 
for refreshments. Pv.emember me to Kingsmill, I hope his flag 
is flying ; also to all our friends, and kindly to your family. Be- 
lieve me yours 

Most affectionately. 



Agamemnon, off Sardinia, Dec, 1, 1792. 

MV DEAR FRIEND, 

Your letter of August 8th I got two days past in Tu- 
nis Bay J where Commodore Linzee has been negotiating lor sl 



310 APPENDIX. 

French convoy under Le Duquesne, of 80 guns, and a corvette. 
The English never yet succeeded in a negotiation against the 
French, and we have not contradicted our practice at Tunis, for 
the Monsleurs have completely upset us with the Bey, and had 
we latterly attempted to take them, I am certain he would have 
declared against us, and done our trade some damage. Lord 
Hood has ordered me from Linzee's command, to take the com- 
mand of a sqadron of frigates off Corsica, and the adjoining 
shore of Italy, to look out for some French frigates who are in 
St. Fiorenzo, in Corsica. They are the ships I had a little brush 
with, joined with one or two others : if they are active they 
may do our trade some damage ; but to say the truth, I believe 
they are more Inclined to be passive, at least they had much of 
that inclination when I saw them. Lord Hood has written me a 
very handsome letter, and given me this command. At Toulon 
I think they will have plenty of fighting tliis winter. Captain 
Toriano, of the SOtli, I believe you know him, or some of his 
relations at Kensington, is killed ; but shot and shell are very 
plentiful all over the harbour : I wonder more damage has not 
been done. General O'Hara, I hope, will be able to drive the 
French from the heights, near the harbour, or we shall be unplea- 
santly situated ; not that I think Toulon is in the smallest dan- 
ger ; at all events, we can destroy the French fleet and arsenal. 
They are some of them the finest ships I ever saw ; the Com- 
merce dc Marseilles has seventeen ports on each deck ; the Vic- 
tory looks nothing to her. You know Pole Is gone to the West- 
Indies ; I have not seen him since his order ; but I know it was a 
thing he dreaded : had I been at Toulon, I should have been a 
candidate for that service ; for I think our sea war is over in these 
seas. Agamemnon has had her share of service ; we have only 
had our anchor down thirty-four times since we sailed from the 
Kore, and then only to get water, or provision. I have now up- 
wards of one hundred of this ship's company absent ; we are 
not much better than a fifty-gun ship. Lord Hood has sent for 
Suckling, who was in the Sandwich, and I dare say has made 
him a lieutenant by this time. This Lord is a very good frien4 



APPENDIX. 3il 

to me : he Is certainly the best officer I ever saw ; every thing 
from him is so clear, it is impossible to reiisunderstand him. 
If I shoul4,go to Cadiz, be assured I will get you a hogshead, or 
two of sherry. Troubridge will tell you I did not see him, or 
his ship after my letter by St. Alban's, Dec. 8. I am glad to 
see by the papers that Kingsmiil is to hoist his flag ; pray, when 
you write to him, remember me kindly to him ; say, Can I get 
him any thing in these parts ? if so, I will do it with real plea- 
sure. I have been in sight of the French squadron all day, and 
we hear they have been joined by a frigate from Galvi ; and real- 
ly I think that the frigate who received most of our fire is not 
here : they want one of their number is certain ; we have not, 
ever since the firing, wanted those who say they saw her sink. I 
own it remains doubtful. Remember me kindly to all your sons 
and daughters, Mr. Bradley, and all friends. Believe me 

Your most affectionate 

Horatio Nelson. 



jigamemnon, Porto Estec'iat 
MY DEAR FRIEND, March^ 21, 1795. 

You will have heard of our brush with the French fleet, 
a battle it cannot be called, as the enemy would not give us an 
opportunity of closing with them ; if they had, I have no doubt, 
from the zeal and gallantry endeavoured to be shewn by each in- 
dividual captain, but we should have obtained a most glorious 
conquest. Admiral Hotham has had much to contend with, a 
fleet half manned, and in every respect inferior to the enemy ; 
Italy calling him to her defence, our newly-acquired kingdom 
calling might and main, our reinforcements and convoy hourly 
expected ; and all to be done without a force, by any means ade- 
quate to it. The French were sent out as for certain conquest, 
their orders were positive to search out our fleet, and to destroy 
us, of which they had no doubt, if we presumed to come to ac- 
tion with them ; then, their troops were to have been landed, and 
Corsica retaken : however, thank God, all is reversed ; I firmly 
believe they never would have fought us, had not theCa Ira lost her 



S42 APPENDIX. 

top-masts, which enabled the Agamemnon and Inconstant to 
close in with her, and so cut her up, that she could not get a 
top-mast up during the night, which caused our little brush the 
next day. Providence, in a most miraculous manner, preserving 
my poor brave fellows, who worked the ship in manceuvering a- 
bout her stern and quarters, with as much exactness as if she had 
been working into Spithead. The action never ceased for up- 
wards of two hours J 11 of the enemy were killed and wounded 
on that day, and only seven of ours wounded. Agamemnon had 
only 344; at quarters, myself included. I am flattered by receiv- 
ing the approbation of my own fleet, as well as the handsomest 
testimony from our enemies. The Sans Culotte at last bore down 
when the admiral called me off. A gale of wind came on two 
days after the action, which forced us in here, and most unluckily 
put the Illustrious on shore, where she lies in great danger ; our 
fleet, except Courageux and Illustrious, is perfectly refitted, and 
ready for sea ; we sail to-morrow for Leghorn to join Blenheim 
and Bombay Castle, when the admiral will immediately put to 
sea, to see if we can find any of these crippled fellows ; for some 
went off" towed by frigates, and some without bowsprits. The 
Sans Culotte is in Genoa, others are in Vado Bay. I think we 
are quite up again in these seas, and if we could only have had a 
breeze, I have no doubt but we should have given a destructive 
blow to the enemy's fleet : but however, it is very well. I beg 
my best and kindest remembrances to all your family ; Josiah is 
a fine young man, and a brave fellow. Believe me ever 
Your most faithful friend, 

Horatio nelson. 

All the enemy*s ships are fitted with forges, and fired constant- 
ly, from some of their guns, hot shot and shells ; but they appear 
ashamed of their orders, which are positive from the Convention, 
and find nothing is superior to the old mode of fighting ; I only 
wish some of their own ships may suffer by having a furnace in 
their cock-pits ; that will end such a diabolical practice. If you 
see Adrniral Lutwidge, or ever write to Kingsmill, remember 
me to him. 



APPENDIX. 343 

Captain, at Sea, Nov. 5, 1796. 

MY DEAR FRIEND, 

It is true that my time has lately been so fully em- 
ployed, that I have not had that time I wished, to write to all my 
friends. However, as I am now attached to the fleet, I have not 
so many affairs on hand. Sir John desires me to say when I 
write to you, that he is sorry he cannot, so much as he wishes, 
write to you himself. We have now done with Corsica, I have 
seen the first and the last of that kingdom : its situation certainly 
was most desirable for us, but the generality of Its inhabitants 
are so greedy of wealth, and so jealous of each other, that it 
would require the patience of Job, and the riches of Crcesus to 
satisfy them : they say themselves they are only to be ruled, by 
the ruling power shooting all its enemies, and bribing all its 
friends. They already regret our departure from them, for no 
more silver harvest will come to their lot. I remember when 
we quitted Toulon we endeavoured to reconcile ourselves to Cor- 
sica ; now we are content with Elba — such things are : howev- 
er, we have a fine port, and are at no expense for the govern- 
ment of the Island. We are anxious to hear what the King of 
Naples has determined on, in consequence of our remaining to 
support him ; if he is marched, I hope soon to be in possession 
of Leghorn again. The conduct of the Pope is extraordinary ; 
although he is at war with the French, yet he has not opened 
his ports to us ; he is fearful of a turn In the present happy pro- 
spect : In short, Italy has been lost by the fears of Its princes ; 
had they expended half the money to preserve their territories, 
which they paid the French for entering them, their countries 
would have been happy, instead of being filled with present mis- 
ery, and diabolical notions of government. 

We left St. Florenzo on the 2d at night, and are now seeing 
our Smyrna convoy part of the way down the Straits, and hope 
to meet Admiral Man, who has more than a month past, known 
the situation of our gallant admiral ; orders have been sent to 
him to join us, which fame says were received October 10th, 
but if that is the fact, Admiral Man could not have sailed on 
the receipt of them. 



344 APPENDIX. 

So soon as our fleet is united, I have no doubt but we shall 
look out for the combined fleet, who I suppose are about thirty- 
four sail of tlie line, badly manned, and worse ordered, whilst 
ours is such a fleet as I never before saw at sea ; there is nothing 
hardly beyond our reach : I need not give you the character of 
Sir John Jervis, you know him well ; therefore I shall only say, 
he is worthy of such a fleet, for he knows how to use us in the 
most beneficial manner for our country. You will not forget me 
kindly to every part of our family, and also to Mr. Bradley and 
our naval friends ; also to Simon Taylor. As I read in the pa- 
per St. Domingo is to be evacuated, I hope Jamaica will be safe. 
All the French army in Italy is going to the devil very fast. We 
are on shore, upon velvet. — Ever believe me 

Your most affectionate 

Horatio Nelson. 

Nov. 1 1 , off" Minorca* 



Irreshtihle, Lagos Bay, Feb. 21, 1797. 

MY DEAR FRIEND, 

I WAS too unwell to write to you by the Lively ; but 
as I know how anxious you are for mj welfare, both in health 
and reputation, 1 send you a short detail of the transactions of 
the Captain ; which if you approve of, you are at perfect liberty 
to insert in the newspapers ; inserting the name of Commodore 
instead of /. Captains Miller and Berry, &c. authenticated the 
trutli, till I quitted the San Joseph to go- on board the Minerva, 
and farther than this the detail should not be printed. As I do 
not write for the press, there may be parts of it which require 
the pruning-knife, which I desire you will use without fear. I 
pretend not to say tliat these ships might not have fallen, had I 
not boarded them ; but truly it was far from impossible, but they 
might have forged into the Spanish fleet as the other two ships 
did. I hope for a good account of the Santissima Trinidada j 
she has been seen without masts, and some of our frigates near 



APPENDIX. 34* 

her. Sir John has just sent me word the Rose goes for Eng- 
land in a few minutes. I can only say, believe me ever 
Your most aiFectionate friend, 

Horatio Nelsok. 
Captain Martin desires I make his best respects. My pen- 
dant is in this ship. 



Naples, July 15, 1799. 

MY DEAR FRIEND, 

Although lam so ill that I can scarcely sit up, yet 
I will not let the courier go off, without assuring you that all 
your kindnesses to me are fresh in my memory ; I remember 
all my friends ; I forgive, from my heart, my envious enemies. 
May God Almighty grant you, my revered friend, that health 
and happiness which has never yet been obtained by 
Your affectionate grateful friend, 

Nelson. 
My friend Troubridge is a general ofEcer. 



Extract of a letter from Lord Nelson to his confidential friend 
Alexander Davison^ Esq. St, Jameses Square. 

On board the Victory. 
Day by day, my dear friend, I am expecting the fleet 
to put to sea, every day, hour, and moment ; and you may rely 
that if it is within the power of man to get at the enemy, it shall 
be done ; and I am sure that all my brethren look to tliat day as 
the finish of our laborious cruize. The event no man can say 
exactly, but I must think, or render great injustice to those under 
me, tliat let the battle be when it may, it will never have been 
surpassed. My shattered frame, if I survive that day, will re- 
quire rest, and that is all I shall ask for. If 1 fall on such a 
glorious occasion, it shall be my pride to take care that my 
friends shall not blush for me ; tliese things are in the hands of 
a wise and just providence, and his will be done. I have got 
some trifle, thank God, to leave to those I hold most dear, and I 

45 



345 APPENDIX. 

have taken care not to neglect it. Do not think I am low-spint-- 
ed on this account, or that I fancy any thing is to happen to me ; 
quite the contrary — my mind Is calm, and I have only to think 
of destroying our inveterate foe. I have two frigates gone for 
more information, and we all hope for a meeting with tlie enemy. 
Nothing can be finer than the fleet under my command. What- 
ever be the event, believe me ever, my dear Davison, 
Your much obliged 

And sincere friend, 

Nelson & Bronte. 



APPENDIX. S-ir 

WILL OF LORD NELSON. 

X^/ihstract of the last JVill and Testament., and Codicils thereto an- 
nexed, of Lord Viscount Nelson, as proved in the Commons by 
his Executors, Earl Nelson and William Haslewood.'J 

HORATIO VISCOUNT NELSON, of the Nile, and of 
Burnham Thorpe in the county of Norfolk, and Duke of Bronte, 
in the kingdom of Farther Sicily. 

First. — In the event that he shall die in England, he desires 
to be buried in the parish church of Burnham Thorpe, unless his 
Majesty shall signify it to be his pleasure that he shall be buried 
elsewhere. 

Gives the sum of lOOl. to the Poor of the several parishes of 
Burnham Thorpe, Suttcn, and Merton, in the county of Nor- 
folk ; viz. — one third pare to euLli paiibh ; the same to be divi- 
ded at the discretion of the Curates or Ministers. 

Gives to Emma, Lady Hamilton, widow of the Right Hon. 
Sir William Hamilton, K. B. his diamond star, as a token of his 
friendship ; also the silver cup vliich she presented to him. 

Gives to his brother, the Rev. William Nelson, D. D. (Earl 
Nelson) the gold box presented to him by the city of London ; 
also, his gold sword, presented to him by the Captains who 
fought with him at the Nile, 

Gives to his sister Catherine Matcham, the sword presented 
to him by the city of London. 

Gives to his sister, Susannah Bolton, the silver cup presented 
to him by the Turkey company. 

Gives to A. Davison, Esq. of St. James's Square, his Turkish 
gun and canteen. 

Gives to his worthy friend, Captain Hardy, all his telescopes 
and sea glasses, and 1001. 

Gives to each of his executors lOOl. 

Gives to his brother and William Haslewood, Esq. of Craven- 
Street, Strand, all the residue of his goods, chattels, and person- 
al estate, (except the household goods, &c. whicli shall be in 



348 APPENDIX. 

his house at Merton, at his decease, and also, except his diamond 
sword and jewels, and any other articles which lie should, by any 
Codicil to his will, otherwise dispose of) to hold to them and 
their executors and administrators, upon ilie trusts following, 
namely : — upon trust, that his said trustees and executors shall, 
as soon as may be, after his death, convert into m^oney such per- 
sonal estate as does not consist of money, and lay out and in- 
vest the same in the purchase of three per cent consols, and 
also the money which shall belong to him at his death, so that 
the dividends and interest may produce the clear yearly sum of 
1,0001. of which they shall stand possessed, upon trust, that, 
during the life of Frances Herbert, Viscountess Nelson, his wife, 
his said trustees do, and shall, fully authorise and empower tlie 
said Viscountess Nelson, his wife, and her assigns, to receive 
the dividends, when the same shall become due, in addition to 
all other provisions made by him at any time heretofore for her 
and in addition to the sti^'i uf -i,000l. l<tiely given her ; which 
sums to be taken in lieu and satisfaction of all dower, and right and 
title of dower, of her the said Viscountess Nelson. And in case the 
annual income to be produced from the Bank annuities, to be pur- 
chased wiili the residue of his personal estate, shall be insufficient 
to answer and pay the sum of 5,0001. a year, then the deficiency 
lobe made up to his wife, out of his barony, town, and lands, 
in Farther Sicily ; so that his said wife, may be entitled to receive 
a clear income of 1,0001. ; and after the decease of his said wife, 
to divide the said 1,0001. unto the said William Nelson, Susan- 
nah Bolton, and Catherine Matcham. 

CODICIL. 

I, Horatio Viscount Nelson of the Nile, of Burnham 
Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk, and of the United kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland ; and Duke of Brortte, in the king- 
dom of Farther Sicily, having to my last will and Testament, 
which bears date on or about the lOtli day of May, in tlie year of 
our Lord 1803, made and published a Codicil, bearing date the 
13th day of the same month, do make and publish a further Co- 
dicil to tlie same last Will and Testament, in manner following 



APPENDIX. 349 

—That is to say : I give and bequeath to Miss Horatla Nelson 
Thompson, (who was baptized on the 13tli day of May last, in 
the parish of St. Mary-la-bonne, in the county of Middlesex, by 
Benjamin Lawrance, Curate, and John Wiilock, assistant clerk, 
and whoin I acknowledge as my adopted daughter,) the sum of 
4,0001. sterling money of Great Britain, to be paid at tlie expi- 
ration of six months after ray decease, or sooner if possible ; and 
I leave my dearest friend Emma, Lady Hamilton, sole guardian 
of the said Horatio Nelson Thompson, until she shall have arri- 
ved at the age of eighteen years, and the interest of the said 
4,0001. to be paid to Lady Hamilton, for her education and main- 
tenance. This request of guardianship I earnestly make of Lady 
Hamilton, knowing that she will educate my adopted child in the 
paths of religion and virtue, and give her those accomplishments 
which so much adora herself, and I hope make her a fit wife for 
my dear nephew, Horatio Nelson, who I wish to marry her, if he 
prove worthy, in Lady Hauiilton' b cblimation, of such a treasure 
as I am sure she will be. 

Farther, I direct that tlie legacies by this my Codicil, as well 
as those by my last Will and Testament, given and bequeathed, 
shall be paid and discharged, from and out of my personal estate 
only, and shall not be charged or chargeable upon my real es- 
tates in the United kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland, and in 
the kingdom of Farther Sicily, or any or either of tliem, or any 
part thereof. 

In all otlier respects, I ratify and confirm my said last Will and 
Testament and former Codicil. In witness whereof, I, the said 
Horatio Viscount Nelson and Duke of Bronte, have to this Codicil 
all in my own hand-writing, and contained in one sheet of paper, 
set my hand and seal, this sixth day of September, in the year 
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and three. 

(Signed) NELSON and BRONTE. 

Signed, sealed, and published, by the Right Hon. Horatio Vis- 
count Nelson, Duke of Bronte, as and for a Codicil to his last 
Will and Testament, 

J George Murray, First 
Captain of the Victory, 
John Scott, Secretary, 



350 APPENDIX. 

Lord Nelson, In his Will, has directed, that If It shall please his 
Sovereign to grant a continuance of his pension of one tliousand 
pounds per annum to Lady Nelson, that the direction In his Will 
to raise a sum of money to be vested In the fands to pay her La- 
dyship an annuity of one thousand pounds ^(fr annum shall be 
made void. 

A Codicil, In his oVvTI writing, directs, that one hundred pounds 
per annum be paid to the widov/ of his brother Maurice. 

The last Codicil annexed to his Lordship's will Is dated in Sep- 
tember last, and gives to Lady Hamilton all the hay on his estate 
at Merton. 

His Lordship has given full power to his trustees, to dispose 
of, or exchange, the whole of his Italian estates. 

(See European Magazine, December, 1805.) 



